The Seven Unique Dzogchen Mind Trainings

When most Dharma practitioners hear the phrase lojong, or “mind training,” we think of discipline, effort, and the use of Atisha’s famous slogans. But in Dzogchen, mind training has a unique flavor. It isn’t about controlling the mind or forcing it into a shape. It means preparing the vessel that receives direct introduction, turning it away from endless distractions, and pointing it back to the ground of our inherent buddhanature that was always here.

These seven trainings prepare the mind for the main practices of Dzogchen. They prepare the mind so that it is open and receptive; free from the taints of craving, confusion, vanity; and sealed with confidence and a commitment to practice. Practiced regularly, they make us capable of recognizing the ground of being and support the main practices of trekchö and tögal.

1. Impermanence: Loosening Attachment

All conditioned things are fleeting. Day turns into night, seasons shift, bodies age, and even those we hold closest eventually pass away. To see impermanence clearly is not to despair, but to free ourselves from worry and endless striving. When nothing can be held onto, samsara loses its grip, and the mind naturally turns toward Dharma. The purpose of this first training is to loosen attachment and prepare the ground for practice.

Seasons turn, bodies change,
friends and loves all pass away.
All is fleeting—bubbles on water.
I remember impermanence.

2. Temporary Happiness: Turning from False Joy

What appears as happiness often conceals suffering. Pleasures fade, wealth brings its own burdens, and even virtuous deeds tied to samsara can keep us circling. To see through this deception is to feel weary of chasing temporary relief and to recognize that only the path leads to lasting joy. The purpose of this training is to turn us away from false promises and direct us toward the freedom of awakening.

Pleasure and pain both deceive,
sweetness that poisons tomorrow.
Only freedom is true joy.

3. Endless Circumstances: Confidence in Dharma

Life’s affairs never end. There is always another task, another hope, another worry. Like a deer chasing a mirage, we run toward satisfaction that never arrives. At some point, exhaustion becomes clarity: no worldly pursuit will complete me. The purpose of this training is to cultivate faith and confidence in Dharma as the only refuge worth turning toward.

Endless are life’s pursuits,
a mirage that never satisfies.
I turn my heart to Dharma.

4. Futility of Action: Relying on the Teacher

Yesterday is already a dream, today dissolves as quickly, and tomorrow will be the same. To pour ourselves into praise and blame, conflict and gain, is to spend life lost in the eight worldly concerns. When this truth strikes home, we realize nothing is reliable except the instructions of the teacher. The purpose of this training is to inspire complete reliance on that guidance and to stop being deceived by illusions.

Worldly works are dreams in dreams,
illusions that bind with praise and blame.
I follow the teacher’s instructions.

5. Qualities of Enlightenment: Enduring Perseverance

The qualities of buddhahood–compassion, wisdom, presence–are already within us, waiting to shine forth. Meditation is the key that reveals them, like an illness cured once and for all. Enduring hardship for the sake of practice is nothing compared to the everlasting joy it brings. The purpose of this training is to cultivate perseverance in meditation, trusting that every effort uncovers our true nature.

Buddhahood’s qualities dwell within.
Through practice, they shine forth,
unceasing, unbound, unending.

6. Instructions of the Teacher: Single-Pointed Reliance

Worldly projects, however meaningful, vanish like smoke. But the Dharma is different: it is medicine for the heart, a ship across samsara’s sea, a stairway to freedom. To follow the Dharma steadily, day and night, is to walk a path that does not fail. The purpose of this training is to encourage unwavering reliance on the teachings, beyond the distractions of the world.

The Dharma heals with timeless truths,
a ship to cross samsara’s sea.
I practice day and night.

7. Absence of Discursive Thought: Resting in the Natural State

Finally, the trainings open into direct experience. Bliss and clarity arise through familiarity with shamatha and vipashyana, as well as working with the yogas of the channels, winds, and bindus. We then gain familiarity with the natural state itself by simply resting the mind–relaxed, awake, and uncontrived. To remain in this space, luminous and free of thought, is to taste the essence of Dzogchen. The purpose of this training is to bring certainty in the natural state, intensifying the presence of the ground of being.

Mind rests in empty bliss, in empty luminosity,
in the spacious freedom beyond thought.
Here I rest, awake and free.

Practicing the Seven Trainings

Longchenpa advised: 

“Sincerely meditate like this for seven days. The aim of this practice is to call to mind the impermanence of all things, to reduce your preoccupation with the future, and to inspire you with diligence in the Dharma.”

A simple session can look like this:

1. Begin with posture and breath.
2. Recite and contemplate the seven mind trainings.
3. Close by resting naturally in the state free from elaboration.

Like preparing fertile soil, these trainings make it possible for the seeds of the main Dzogchen practices of trekchö and tögal to grow and flourish.