Beyond Secret: The Upadesha of Vairochana on the Practice of the Great Perfection

This book presents a unique and previously unavailable version of the earliest Dzogchen teachings brought to Tibet from India in the 8th century by the translator Vairotsana. The "Five Early Translations" are part of the Tibetan cannon of Nyingma teachings and have been translated before in various bits and pieces and as a whole - see Dowman's excellent  Eye of the Storm: Bairotsana's Original Transmissions , but as the introduction here explains these teachings collectively titled "The Sun of My Heart" are from a different version preserved in the isolated Changthang desert of northern Tibet, and gathered by Togden Rinpoche (presumably the original 16th century Togden?) during his travels there, and are not included in the Nyingma gyud bum (orthodox collection of Nyingma tantras). It really isn't clear from the translator's brief introduction exactly who's, or from when these teachings are, although they are similar in title and intent, they are different in content to the Dowman translation, but are presented as an 'upadesha' or oral instructional class of teachings by Vairotsana himself.Basically these texts are direct and simple presentations of the Dzogchen view - the effortless settling of our mind in it's natural, perfect purity. The 5 texts here (actually 6 with the inclusion of an additional one titled "The Miraculous Occurrence of the Bodhicitta") alternate back and forth between clarification of this view, and how to apply it in our meditation. And the instructions are generally consistently clear and practical.Yet.... I find I'm not terribly overwhelmed or inspired by this book. It seems very wordy for an ancient text (or for "oral instructions" for that matter) - much more detailed and elaborate than the other examples of the original dzogchen instructions we get in Garab Dorje's extremely pithy "Three Words That Strike to the Heart", or in the early works of Vairotsana we see translated by Dowman. Although other ancient Nyingma dzogchen tantras that have been translated (see  The Supreme Source: The Fundamental Tantra Of Dzogchen Semde Kunjed Gyalpo , The Marvelous Primordial State , The Wisdom of Manjusri  and  Secret Wisdom: Three Root Tantras of the Great Perfection ) are in fact quite wordy they have a stylized formal structure befitting their status as fundamental tantras (although these texts are hard to accurately date and were likely composed several hundred years later than the tradition claims). Yet when Longchenpa in the 14th century wrote a summary of the Kunjed Gyalpo (translated by Lipman and Peterson as  You Are The Eyes Of The World ) he conveyed a more succinct and intimate style of oral instruction - for those who haven't yet read that book I'd recommend it over this one. And while "Beyond Secret" is way easier and more interesting to read than those other root tantras, the commentary (which is a mixture of quotes from various tantras and other root verses with more elaborate explanations) sounds like it could also be more contemporary, like the anonymous 12th century commentary to the original five translations we find in Dowman's book. Although I'm not suggesting it is that same commentator, just maybe someone from that later transmission era. Anyway, I don't know, but I'm just wondering why it didn't really grab me, or always seem like "essential" instructions.As for Wilkinson's translating style; it is straightforward and somewhat plain but also even a bit stilted (perhaps reflecting the archaic Tibetan of the original text more literally). But this straightforwardness also reveals a very practical and down to earth approach to the dharma (perhaps also reflecting the essentially simple and earthy Tibetan character). For someone new to Dzogchen I don't think this a great place to start (better to see the published introductory teachings of contemporary masters like Tulku Urgyen and Namkhai Norbu, or the more radical - dzogchen without the vajrayana buddhist trappings - style of Dowman's translations), but for practitioners who have previously received similar oral instructions it will be a useful reminder as well as interesting historical document.Perhaps the largest part of my discouragement is from the overall presentation. This edition was quite expensive ($31+ new), yet the publication is less than perfect. There are quite a few obvious typos and the overall presentation is a bit terse - there are only 2 pages of introduction, followed by 1 page for acknowledgements and 1 page for the translator's biography, then the 118 pages of English translation, 51 pages of reproductions of the original Tibetan pages, and finally 4 pages of rather minimal notes. It would have been nice to see a little more thought, care and time put into the presentation of a text of this importance. Maybe next edition...

The Original Oral Teachings of Vairochana on the Great PerfectionMay the ever-positive way of being in union with beautiful reality bless this work. The wondrous western translator Christopher Wilkinson has given us another rare and precious treasure. Beyond Secret allows us to sit alongside Yudra Nyingpo and read his in-class notes as he received oral teachings that would later become refined and condensed into the "five early translations". The rawness and direct presence of the teachings being given by Vairochana sparkle with realization and fresh awareness. In places, the text may seem to jump around, as would a freshman student's notes, jotting down key insights heard in the presence of a world-renowned professor. At times the text reads like a transcript of ear-whispered instructions on non-meditation and non-striving, making the clear distinction between the duality incipient in visualization yoga and the absolute unity of the great perfection vision. Even two decades ago, any little scrap of the great perfection literary corpus was difficult to find in English, much less understand and use as the basis to inspire realization. Now, the floodgates of translation from Tibetan have started to open, with many skilled translators bursting forth an incomprehensible mountain of jewels from the great perfection tradition, as it arrived and developed in the Tibetan kingdoms. Since they were revealed on earth, until recently these teachings have only been transmitted in secret, because of the long-held concern with keeping these teachings hidden, for fear they would be misunderstood, misapplied, or watered down. Yet all the masters have know that the time would come for public transmission, just as all tantric teachings, and even the mahayana were once secret. That is why Sri Simha gave the teachings and texts to Vairochana to translate: the time had come. We are blessed to live in a time when those ancient texts are being translated into English by such masters of both Tibetan and English as Chris Wilkinson. Read these texts in their prismatic purity. Imagine yourself sitting just behind Yudra Nyingpo, soaking up the brilliance of the new language Vairochana is creating, as he bends a primitive, nomadic language into a linguistic, spiritual masterpiece of expression, capable of expressing what words cannot touch, where the inbred dualism of thinking is transformed, its impacted energy released. The chapters of oral commentary appear to follow the early translations, formally available in Keith Dowman's marvelous translation Original Perfection and also as chapters 31, 27, 22, 26, & 30 of the famous Kunbyed Gyalpo (Supreme Source), already translated into English a few times. Yet, the text is not a true commentary. The instructions seem to be refer to other texts as well. Or perhaps the idea of different "texts" had not yet congealed among the 6,400,000 verses of teachings Garab Dorje recorded. This essential text joins Wilkinson's other growing body of translations of the ancient tantras, only a few of which were actually studied in Tibet, as the lineage traditions tended to focus on the Tibetan synthesizations into a few essential texts. Here, and in Wilkinson's other translations, we have access to a source text for the Ati tradition as it took off in Tibet, being able to sit at the feet of the master and absorb his grace waves. Great Perfection texts are renowned for their simplicity and directness, unburdened with complex visualizations and symbolic actions. All one needs to access these texts is the buddhamind that everyone already is. Highly recommended. Merrill Peterson, co-translator of You Are the Eyes of the World (Snow Lion, 2010)

I'm infinitely grateful to Chris W for having translated this profound, authentic DzogChen text. Although this is more practice-oriented than many of the other early Great Perfection Tantras, it guides you easily into recognition of the Supreme State.

Addressing what is really meaningful in the practice: strips off wrong, unnecessary and provisional views and practices. Absolute guide for enlightenment.