An Introduction to the Bonpo Dzogchen Teachings of the Oral Tradition of Zhang Zhung known as the Zhang-zhung snyan rgyud..
The original Dzogchen teachings are found equally in the old, unreformed Tibetan schools of the Buddhist Nyingmapas and the pre- Buddhist Bonpos. These teachings are substantially the same in both schools in terms of meaning, terminology, and practice, both traditions justly claiming unbroken lineages of transmission coming down to the present day from the 8th century, and even before. Moreover, both schools assert that Dzogchen did not originate in Tibet itself, or even in India, but in Central Asia, variously known as Tazik and Uddiyana. From there it was brought to India and Central Tibet by certain Mahasiddhas, or great adepts, where it represented an Upadesha, or secret oral instruction, concerning an unconditioned state of being and awareness beyond the Tantric process of transformation. This refers to the Natural State of the Nature of Mind, one's own innate Buddha-nature, that is beyond all time, conditioning, and causality. In both traditions, the Nyingmapa and the Bonpo, Dzogchen is regarded as the ultimate teaching of the Buddhas of the three times and it is classified as the ninth or highest vehicle to enlightenment.

In this volume will be found translations from the Tibetan of the Dzogchen teachings originally transmitted by the master Tapihritsa to his disciple Nangzher Lodpo at the Darok Lake in Zhang-zhung, or Northwestern Tibet, which, at that time, was still an independent kingdom. Included here also are translations of the hagiographies of the principal masters of this tradition in ancient times, extending back to the ultimate source of the Dzogchen teachings, the Primordial Buddha, Kuntu Zangpo Himself. The appendices in the book present translations and explanations of the preliminary practices for this tradition of Dzogchen, known as Ngondro, as well as the Guru Yoga practice for Tapihritsa. These explanations proceed according to the oral instructions of Yongdzin Rinpoche, Lopon Tenzin Namdak, the greatest living exponent of the Bonpo tradition of Dzogchen.

The texts of the Zhang-zhung Nyan-gyud, first written down in the 8th century in the Zhang-zhung language and a century later translated by Ponchen Tsanpo into Tibetan, never became Termas, or hidden treasure texts, but represent a continuous system of oral and written transmission until the present time. Therefore, the Zhang-zhung Nyangyud, "the Oral Tradition from Zhang-zhung," is of singular importance for the understanding of the historical development of Dzogchen in Early Tibet.

John Myrdhin Reynolds (Vajranatha) is a translator of Tibetan, a scholar in the fields of Tibetan Studies, Buddhist Philosophy, and Comparative Religion, who has taught at a number of universities in the West. He was ordained as a Ngagpa Lama in the Nyingmapa tradition by HH Dudjom Rinpoche, and for more than ten years he has worked closely with Lopon Tenzin Namdak on the translation of early Bonpo Dzogchen and Tantra texts. His earlier works, The Golden Letters and Self-Liberation, published by Snow Lion, dealt with the origin of Dzogchen in the Nyingmapa Buddhist tradition coming from India and Central Asia.

Foreword by Lopon Tenzin Namdak

Preface by the Translator

PART ONE
The History and Lineages

Chapter 1: The Bonpo and Nyingmapa Traditions of Dzogchen
Introduction
The Historical Development of Bon
The Origin of Dzogchen
The Three Traditions of Bonpo Dzogchen

Chapter 2: The Primordial Buddha Kuntu Zangpo
The Primordial Buddha
The Base, the Path, and the Fruit
The Iconography of the Primordial Buddha
The Dialogue in Eternity
The Four Peaceful Deities

Chapter 3: The Mind-to-Mind Transmission of the Buddhas
The Nine-Fold Transmission of the Sugatas
Introduction to the Translations
Translation of " The Small Text of the Nine-Fold Transmission of the Mind"
Translations from "The Hagiographies of the Masters of the Lineage"

Chapter 4: The Oral Transmission of the Siddhas
The Transmission Lineages in General
The Interrupted Transmission Lineage
The Uninterrupted Transmission Lineage
The Lineage of the Twenty-four August Persons
The Transmission Lineage according to "The Three Revelations"
Transmission Lineages from India and from Zhang-zhung
Translations from "The Hagiographies of the Masters of The Lineage"

Chapter 5: The Masters Tapihritsa and Gyerpungpa
The Mahasiddha Tradition in Zhang-zhung
The Life of Tapihritsa
Translation from "The Hagiographies of the Masters of the Lineage"
His Disciple Gyerpung Nangzher Lodpo
The Encounters of Gyerpungpa with His Master
Translation from "The Hagiographies of the Masters of the Lineage"
Persecution and the Decline of Bon

Chapter 6: The Prophetic Sayings of the Lord Tapihritsa
Introduction to the Translations
Translation of "The Prophetic Sayings of Lord Tapihritsa"
Translation of "The Intermediate Encounter"
Translation of "The Nine Respectful Polite Speeches"

Chapter 7: The Reasons Why the Bon did not Decline
Introduction to the Translation
Translation of "The Reasons Why the Bon did not Decline"

Chapter 8: The Experiential Transmission and the Precepts Transmission
The Revival of Bon and the Terma Discoveries
The Six Mahasiddhas from Zhang-zhung Mar
Translations from "The Hagiographies of the Masters of the Lineage"
The Experiential Transmission
The Five Masters of the System of Lower Zhang-zhung
The Transmission of the Percepts
The Six Masters of the System of Upper Zhang-zhung

Chapter 9: The Later History of the Transmission
The Northern Lineage and the Southern Lineage
Yangton Chenpo Sherab Gyaltsan
The Nine Masters of the Northern Lineage of Transmission
The Eleven Masters of the Southern Lineage of Transmission

PART TWO
The Literature of the Zhang-zhung Nyan-gyud Cycle

Chapter 10: The Texts in the Menri Edition of the Zhang-zhung Nyan-gyud
The Four Cycles of Precepts
The Collections of the Experiential Transmissions
The Contents of the Menri Edition

Chapter 11: The Practice Manual for the Zhang-zhung Nyan-gyud
The Life and Works of Druchen Gyalwa Yungdrung
The Contents of the Practice Manual

APPENDIX ONE: The Guru Yoga for Tapihritsa
Introduction
How to Practice the Guru Yoga
The Invocation to Tapihritsa
Translation of the Invocation to Tapihritsa
Commentary to the Translation of the Invocation
Guru Yoga and the Practice of Contemplation

APPENDIX TWO: The Preliminary Practices
Introduction
Translation of the Preliminary Practices Text
Commentary to the Translation of the Preliminary Practices
Translation of the "Exposition of the Words" Text

APPENDIX THREE: The Invocations to the Guardian Deity
Nyipangse and to the Goddess Menmo
Introduction
Translations of the Texts

APPENDIX FOUR: The Biography of Yongdzin Lopon
Tenzin Namdak

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

GLOSSARY OF TIBETAN TERMS

INDEX
MASTERS AND DEITIES
TOPICS AND PLACES