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Dzogchen: The Great Perfection

Discover Dzogchen, the Great Perfection. Explore teachings, practices, and reflections that make Dzogchen alive in daily life.
Dzogchen: The Great Perfection
Dzogchen is the path of recognizing the nature of mind as it already is—uncontrived, luminous, and free.

What is Dzogchen?

What is Dzogchen?
Dzogchen is a direct introduction to primordial buddhahood in the immediacy of our own awareness.
A Life's WorkGreg Patenaude

We spend much of our lives chasing after clarity. We want to see things as they are, to live without confusion. Yet the more we search, the more it slips away—like trying to grasp water with our hands.

Dzogchen begins here, in the simple recognition that what we are looking for is not hidden. The nature of mind is already present, already clear, already free. There is nothing to add, nothing to remove. The path is not one of fabricating a better version of ourselves but of uncovering what has always been true.

This is why Dzogchen is sometimes called the “Great Perfection.” It points us back to what is complete from the beginning. When we rest in awareness as it is—uncontrived, luminous, and spacious—clarity arises naturally. The effort to become drops away, and we begin to see the play of thoughts and emotions as expressions of awareness itself.

The challenge is not to build something new, but to remember. Each moment of noticing is a doorway: the pause between breaths, the glance of sunlight on a wall, the sound of your own name. In those moments, we can let go of chasing and rest in the simplicity of being aware.

Read Secret Path of the Siddhas: The Foundations of Mahamudra and Dzogchen by Younge Khachab Rinpoche.

Explore these teachings to begin:

Everyday Practice of Dzogchen
Everyday Dzogchen made clear. Learn how authentic Dzogchen practice offers modern practitioners a path that is both profound and practical.
A Life's WorkGreg Patenaude
Pointing out your true nature.
Sitting here, resting in the myriad display of appearances, the unceasing luminosity of the ground appears as the infinite play of dependent origination. This energetic expression points to the ground, yet there is no ground. Simply resting in complete openness, utterly beyond all thought or description, the unceasing dance of
A Life's WorkGreg Patenaude
The Royal Seat of Akanishtha
The Sadhana of Dzogchen.
A Life's WorkGreg Patenaude
Why Pointing-Out Instructions in Dzogchen Aren’t Enough
Discover why Dzogchen pointing-out instructions often fail to ‘land’—rigpa can’t be defined by words, only recognized within the context of our own experience.
A Life's WorkGreg Patenaude
Unconditional Love in Dzogchen: The Practice of Showing Up
In Dzogchen, ultimate love is emptiness itself, an unwavering presence that shows up fully, beyond conditions or self-concern.
A Life's WorkGreg Patenaude
Dzogchen and the Nature of Time and Space
Where do time and space begin? A Dzogchen thought experiment reveals how awareness and self-reflexive knowing give rise to spacetime.
A Life's WorkGreg Patenaude

Each offers a doorway into the view, practice, and heart of Dzogchen.

Read more blog posts about Dzogchen.

Practice in Daily Life

Dzogchen is not only for mountain hermitages or long retreats. It is for this moment, while cooking dinner, answering emails, or walking with your child. The same awareness shines everywhere.

The instruction is simple: whatever arises, meet it without altering. In joy or in difficulty, let awareness recognize itself.

Dzogchen view and practice.
It is crucial to have a grounded understanding of the four noble truths [https://siddhearta.blogspot.com/2018/07/moving-through-four-noble-truths.html] in order to appreciate the Dzogchen view and practice. The four noble truths teach us to: Understand the human predicament. Let go of the arising of attachment, aversion and
A Life's WorkGreg Patenaude

Working with Obstacles

In Dzogchen, obstacles often come disguised as effort. We try too hard, doubt too much, or look for experiences to confirm what is already present.

When distraction arises, notice it as movement in awareness. When doubt arises, rest with the not-knowing itself. When effort arises, release the straining and let awareness rest in its own place.

Obstacles are not barriers; they are invitations to see more clearly.

The opposite of awareness.
Dzogchen takes awareness (Tib: rigpa) as the path and that awareness takes the form of pure presence. It is a way of being in which we are open, receptive and dynamic. An excellent metaphor for this presence of awareness is dancing, in which we are responsive and in union with
A Life's WorkGreg Patenaude
Tantra: The Path of Transformation
Explore Buddhist tantric practices like ngöndro, guru yoga, and practices that purify perception and reveal the sacred in daily life.
A Life's WorkGreg Patenaude
Science of Mind
Explore Buddhism’s science of mind, teachings on consciousness, awareness, and the nature of reality.
A Life's WorkGreg Patenaude

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If you feel drawn to explore Dzogchen more deeply, join our community of practice. We share reflections, retreat opportunities, and guidance for making the teachings alive in daily life.

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The sky has always been open and luminous. The path of Dzogchen is simply remembering to look.