Dr. John Reynolds presented this seminar on the origins of Tibetan Bon Dzogchen according to the Zhang-zhung Nyän-gyüd at Gyalshen Institute on December 7, 2014.

Unlike the other traditions of Dzogchen found within Bön, the Zhang-zhung Nyän-gyüd represents a continuous and unbroken transmission from earliest times of the precepts of Dzogchen coming down to our own time. These teachings and practices were transmitted by the enlightened master Tapihritsa to his disciple Gyerpung Nangzher Lödpo at the Darok Lake in the 8th century in Zhang-zhung, or Northwestern Tibet, at that time an independent kingdom with its own language and religious culture. But the ultimate source of the Dzogchen teachings are said to be far more ancient, extending back to the Primordial Buddha, Kuntu Zangpo himself. These represent upadeshas, or secret oral instructions, only put into writing much later. They speak of an unconditioned state of being and awareness beyond the Tantric process of transformation. This refers to the Natural State of the Nature of Mind, one’s own innate Buddha Nature that is beyond time, conditioning, and causality. This seminar will survey the teachings, literature, and practices found in this oral tradition from the land of Zhang-zhung.

John Reynolds is one of the foremost translators of Bön Dzogchen texts and has studied this meditation tradition extensively with many important lamas, particularly Yongdzin Rinpoche. His biography and books can be seen on his website at http://vajranatha.com/