General Information
Lotsawa Tony served as the personal translator to Tsoknyi Rinpoche from 1992 to 2000. During that time, Lotsawa Tony accompanied
Tsoknyi Rinpoche on all of his tours and was responsible for all translation work. During the time, Lotsawa Tony amassed
a huge library of Tsoknyi Rinpoche's teachings. A range of them have been carefully selected, edited, and arranged into books.
paper book 978-9937-202-24-4, e-book 978-9937-572-39-2
Texts
Tibetan text in Tibetan script: no Tibetan texts in book
The book is a compendium of public talks given during the 1990's. Three weekend intensives
are included in their entirety as are several single talks. The talks all point at the ultimate
meaning as taught in Mahamudra and Dzogpa chenpo but also contain an
enormous amount of Tibetan Buddhist teaching of more general interest. The book will
of course be of special interest to Tsoknyi Rinpoche's students. It will also be of
special interest to students of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and also Shambhala because a number
of the talks were givenat Dharmadhatus, now Shambhala Centres. The talks span the whole
period of the 1990's and have been selected by Lotsawa Tony not only for
their dharma content but also to show the development of Tsoknyi Rinpoche's teaching
style during that time. Thus it is also a historical record that shows the development of
Tsoknyi Rinpoche's teaching style through the 1990's.
The talks in this book were chosen specifically to complement a second book, called Ground, Path, and Fruition, displayed further down this page.
Here is the table of contents from Hinting at Dzogchen: 1. Heart of Enlightenment, The Path of Compassion
In the summer of 1992, Tsoknyi Rinpoche taught a weekend course at the request of the members
of Karma Dzong,the Dharmadhatu dharma assembly in Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A. The course,
entitled, ‘Awakened Heart, the Path of Compassion’, addressed the teachings of the Mahayana in
general and the Tibetan Nyingma tradition in particular.
2. Uncovering Enlightened Mind
In the summer of 1994, Tsoknyi Rinpoche taught a five-session course for the summer session
of Buddhist Studies department of the Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A. The
course, entitled, ‘Uncovering the Heart of Enlightenment’ addressed the subject from the point of view
of the teachings of the Mahayana in general and the Tibetan Nyingma tradition in particular.
3. Self-knowing Knower
On June 28th and 29th, 1995, Tsoknyi Rinpoche gave a two-talk public course at the
request of the San Francisco Dharmadhatu dharma assembly in San Francisco, California, U.S.A. The
talks emphasized the fact that ultimate meditation depends on reflexive understanding, i.e., that
one’s own mind has to recognize itself.
4. A Weekend of Meditation
In the summer of 1996, Tsoknyi Rinpoche taught a public, weekend course on meditation
at the request of the Berkeley Shambhala Centre dharma assembly in Berkeley, California,
U.S.A. The course dealt with the practice of Dzogchen. The first talk is available here.
5. Ultimate Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha
In the summer of 1997, Tsoknyi Rinpoche taught a public, weekend course on meditation at the
request of the Berkeley Shambhala Centre dharma assembly in Berkeley, California, U.S.A. The course,
entitled ‘Nature of Mind’, dealt with the meaning of Dzogchen meditation in general. The first talk,
which was a public talk, showed the meaning of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and the
meaning of meditation in general. That first talk is reproduced here.
6. Dzogchen View of Mind
In the summer of 1997, on the night of August the eleventh, Tsoknyi Rinpoche gave
a public talk at the request of the students of Spirit Rock dharma centre, California,
U.S.A. The talk was entitled, ‘Dzogchen View of Mind’. The talk
explained that the whole meaning of the Buddha’s teaching is contained in the two
things emptiness and compassion then showed what those mean and how they
are developed in the Dzogchen practice.
7. Advice at Tara Mandala
In the summer of 1997, Tsoknyi Rinpoche gave a ten-day retreat
at Tara Mandala in southern Colorado,U.S.A. Some interesting questions
and answers from the retreat are given here.
8. Compassion as Ground, Path, Fruition
In the summer of 1997, on the night of August the twenty-first, Tsoknyi Rinpoche
gave a public talkat the request of the Shambhala Centre, Karma Dzong, in Boulder,
Colorado, U.S.A. The talk was entitled, ‘Compassion as Ground, Path, and Fruition’. The talk
began by showing clearly how emptiness is needed for real compassion and then moved on
to give a complete description of ground, path, and fruition.
9. Tsoknyi Rinpoche Summarizes His Approach to Teaching the Path of Thorough Cut I
On September 9, 1999, Tsoknyi Rinpoche gave a public talk at the request
of Berkeley Shambhala Centre dharma assembly
in Berkeley, California, U.S.A. The talk was a summary, in general terms,
of the longer meditation retreats that he was teaching at the time. It explains
his approach to Dzogchen meditation in a way that is suitable for public presentation.
10. Tsoknyi Rinpoche Summarizes His Approach to Teaching the Path of Thorough Cut II
On October 4, 1999, Tsoknyi Rinpoche gave a public talk at the request
of the Kagyu Centre in Crestone, Colorado, USA. The talk was
a summary, in general terms, of the longer meditation retreats that
he was teaching at the time. It explains his approach to Dzogchen meditation
in a way that is suitable for public presentation.
11. Tsoknyi Rinpoche Summarizes His Approach to Teaching the Path of Thorough Cut III
On October 6, 1999, Tsoknyi Rinpoche gave a public talk at the request of the Boulder Shambhala
Centre dharma assembly in Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A. The talk was a summary, in
general terms, of the longer meditation retreats that he was teaching at the time. It explains his
approach to Dzogchen meditation in a way that is suitable for public presentation.
Title
Ground, Path, And Fruition
Sub-Title
Teachings of Tsoknyi Rinpoche on Mind and Mind Essence
Author
Tony Duff
Details
206 pages, 5.5" X 8.5", US$25, available on paper
ISBN
paper book 978-9937-572-26-2, e-book 978-9937-572-25-5
Texts
Tibetan text in Tibetan script: no Tibetan texts included
Note
** Restricted publication **
Restriction:
At Tsoknyi Rinpoche's direction, this book is only available to those who have had the
complete set of instructions on Thorough Cut (thregcho)from Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Tulku Ugyen,
Chokyi Nyima, or Mingyur Rinpoche. The book is also available tostudents of Chogyam
Trungpa Rinpoche who are at the sadhaka level. If you have a different teacher and have
had a complete set of instructions, you might be eligible; please use the contact link
on the menu to contact us.
Back cover text:
Ground, path, and fruition is a type of logic used to understand a whole subject
clearly. Here, it is applied to teachings on mind and mind essence from
Tsoknyi Rinpoche by Lotsawa Tony Duff to make a complete guide to the higher
practices of Essence Mahamudra and the Thorough Cut of Great Completion. The book contains
several, complete teachings on these subjects all carefully arranged intoground, path, and fruition
presentations. Moreover, the path instructions are extensively presented using the logic
of view, meditation, and conduct. Tony has additionally highlighted the special type
of instructions,called upadesha, that form the core teachings of these practices.
From the Introduction by the author:
"Tsoknyi Rinpoche approached me, his translator, and asked me to create a
book of his teachingsthat would show the tenets (of the Dzogchen and Essence Mahamudra
teachings) and asked specifically for a ground, path, and fruition presentation. I selected
three setsof his teachings for the purpose. The first gave extensive ground, path,
and fruition teachings from both Kagyu Mahamudra and Nyingma Dzogchen perspectives. The second
gave extensive instructions on the path from both perspectives. The third gave an extensive
presentation just of the Dzogchen path. The selections chosen and the arrangements
made of the teachings in them make the book into a manual both of the theory and
practice of the Thorough Cut practice of Dzogchen that can be used by students of
Tsoknyi Rinpoche or otherswho are studying and practising the same material …"
