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In the tradition of Dzogchen lineages, you first need to practice the common preliminary practices, like accumulation of 500,000 repetitions or 100-day retreat. After that, you need to practice the uncommon preliminary practice. The common preliminary practice means this practice common with the lower vehicles, like understanding the difficulty of finding a precious human life, the impermanence of life, and so forth. The phrase uncommon preliminary practices means these preliminary practices are not common with the lower vehicles, but are needed to practice Dzogchen, such as discerning samsara from nirvana and turning the mind, which have been explained in Yeshe Lama, and so forth.

THE SUFFERINGS OF THE SIX REALMS 1st Day: Sufferings of the Hell Realms[8]

After you meditate like this about the hell realms, you ask yourself, “If I don’t practice dharma at this time, when will I have the time to practice? Therefore, I should practice dharma diligently”. After your analytical meditation, then, you need to rest your mind for a little while in a thoughtless state, not following after past, not inviting future, not thinking at the current moment. This we call “stabilizing meditation”. It is just resting your mind, but is not actual Dzogchen practice yet. When you conclude your meditation, you need to dedicate the merit toward enlightenment with this dedication prayer: By this accumulation of virtues, May I attain all-seeing omniscience, and may all faults be annihilated, The whirling turbulent waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death; From this ocean of samsara, may I liberate beings!

Those who do not have any wisdom in dharma will experience inconceivable sufferings and regret upon dying. Whatever was accumulated during his lifetime – wealth, fame, power, family, and relatives – will all be left behind when you die. You can only follow your own karma for what he has done before regarding those listed above. When death approaches, the dharma practitioner will not feel regret, fear, or negative emotions. They will feel happy when death approaches, regarding practicing the great vehicle of Sutra. When Bodhisattvas die, they know death is like existing from one garden into another. In their next life, they will be born with a successful life from their prayers, concentration, and powers. Even if they will be born from their past negative karma, they will be born with great compassion and bodhicitta. After that, they will exhaust all negative karma from what had been done before. Those who practiced Dzogpa Chenpo in their lifetime will experience even greater realization.

42nd Day: Suffering of Not Getting What You Want[43] The forty second day’s meditation instructions are meditating on the suffering of not getting what you want. This means suffering from being unable to get what you want, and you cannot do what you wish to do. Everybody wants happiness, but it is very difficult to get what you want for your happiness. For example, many people wish to be rich, but their business fails and they become poor.

Quality & Benefits 52nd – 54th Days: Cause & Effect[53]

When karma can be reduced by purification, we call it karma with uncertainty of its result. You may complete the karma through the six branches as follows:

complete it purposefully, 2. do it completely, 3. have no regret, 4. rejoice for having done it, 5. not being purified, and 6. having potentiality from the ripening of result.

For example, if you had the karma to be born as a dog in your next life, and this dog was eaten by another; but now, you have met a Guru and received dharma teachings on how to practice, your karma has been shifted, and you will be born in a human life with the eight freedoms and ten advantages or in a Nirmanakaya pureland. So, the Lama’s kindness is inconceivable, and it is very difficult to repay his or her kindness.

BODHICITTA Arousing Bodhicitta – The Four Immeasurables 59th – 61st Days: Boundless Impartiality[64]

AI Summary

The 100-Day Ngondro Retreat by Lopon Zugchen presents key insights from the Dzogchen tradition. The 10 passages above capture the essential teachings.

Core Themes:

[To be expanded]

Key Passages: Highlights 1, 3, and 10 are particularly representative.

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