User:Zero sharp/Mengagde
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| mengagde Wylie: man ngag sde |
Mengagde is the name of one of three scriptural divisions within atiyoga, also known as Dzogchen or the Great Perfrection which is itself the pinnacle of the ninefold division of practice according to the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.
The name mengagde is translated as 'Oral Instruction Division' or 'Secret Instruction Division'. The other two divisions are Longde (Space Series) and Semde (Space Series).
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[edit] Background
These three divisions were introduced by the Buddhist scholar Manjushrimitra. As Great Perfection texts, the texts of all three divisions are concerned with the basic primordial state; the nature of mind-itself (which is contrasted with normal conscious mind). They differ only in terms of emphasis. Texts of the Space Series emphasise the emptiness or spaciousness aspect. By contrast, the Mind Series (sems de) emphasizes the innate awareness or 'knowingness' aspect of mind. The third division, mengagde is a balance of the two, in some sense transcending and surpassing both.
It is important to note that the three series do not represent different schools of Dzogchen practice as much as different approaches to the same goal, that being the basic, natural, and primordial state. As is common throughout much Buddhist literature, Tibetan Buddhism in particular, gradations in the faculties of practitioners are also ascribed to the three divisions, they being seen as appropriate for practitioners of low, middling, and high faculties, respectively.
[edit] Distinguishing Features of the Mind Division
[edit] Texts of the Oral Instruction Division
[edit] References
- "The Practice of Dzogchen", Tulku Thondup, Harold Talbott editors, Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca NY, 1989. ISBN 1559390549
- "The Supreme Source: The Fundamental Tantra of the Dzogchen Semde, Kunjed Gyalpo", Namkhai Norbu and Adriano Clemente, Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca NY, 1999, ISBN 1559391200

