Interview with Lopon Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche

In our time, Lopon Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche is one of the principal teachers of the Bon tradition. Since leaving Tibet, he has worked continuously for the survival and preservation of Bon. He has visited Merigar many times and is depicted in the Temple of the Great Liberation in the Merigar gompa. The ASIA project supports his work and helps young monks and orphans studying in his monastery.

In October of last year, Jacob Winkler and Eva Hofinger visited Triten Norbutse, Lopon Rinpoche’s monastery in the Kathmandu valley near the great stupa of Swayambhu. Before the interview, they received several days of teachings on trekchö and thögal from the Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyü, the Oral Transmission of Zhang Zhung.

The directness of Dzogchen teaching

Jacob: I am impressed by how directly and simply you teach Dzogchen: first explaining concentration, then the search for the natural state, and finally the practices of trekchö and thögal. I have never heard Tibetan teachers present the teaching so directly. Why do you do this?

Lopon Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche: According to our Dzogchen tradition, the natural state has two aspects: clarity and emptiness.

Remaining in a state without thoughts or sensory perception, in a state free from the activity of the mind, is a common basis for Tantra and especially for Mahamudra. In ancient times some schools regarded this as the Madhyamaka view. But in the Dzogchen view there is something more. Besides emptiness, clarity is spontaneously present in the natural state. It is necessary to discover both.

If one practises only a blank state, how can one live? We hear, see, taste, touch; all of this exists and must be integrated. In Dzogchen, through trekchö one is introduced to the natural state. From emptiness appearances arise, and thögal is the practice that demonstrates this.

When one becomes familiar with visions and appearances, they are no longer treated as ordinary solid objects. They are understood as the display of the natural state itself.

Emptiness and clarity

Jacob: Many practitioners hear about emptiness, but the aspect of clarity is less easily understood. How should one approach it?

Rinpoche: If one looks only for emptiness, one may fall into a one-sided understanding. The natural state is not a blank nothingness. It is open, empty, and at the same time vividly aware. Clarity is not something added from outside. It is present naturally.

Thoughts arise, perceptions arise, experiences arise. If one recognises their nature, they are not obstacles. They become the display of awareness. If one does not recognise them, one follows them and becomes confused.

Guru yoga and connection with the teacher

Jacob: What is the role of guru yoga in this process?

Rinpoche: Guru yoga is very important because the natural state is not discovered merely through intellectual understanding. The teacher introduces the student to the state. This does not mean that the teacher gives something external. Rather, through devotion and correct instruction, the student recognises what has always been present.

Devotion is not blind belief. It is openness, trust, and readiness to receive the instruction. If the student is full of doubt, pride, or distraction, even a very profound teaching cannot enter deeply.

Preliminary practices

Jacob: Some Western students want to go directly to Dzogchen and avoid preliminary practices. What would you say to them?

Rinpoche: Preliminary practices are not a formality. They prepare the body, speech, and mind. They purify obstacles and accumulate merit. Without preparation, one may hear Dzogchen words and think one has understood, but the understanding remains superficial.

Dzogchen is direct, but direct does not mean careless. If the ground is not prepared, the seed cannot grow. Preliminary practices make the student capable of receiving direct instruction.

Practice in the West

Jacob: Many people in the West have work, family, and a very busy life. How can they practise?

Rinpoche: One must practise according to one’s circumstances. If you cannot spend many hours in formal practice, then practise short sessions many times. Most important is continuity. Do not separate practice completely from daily life.

When walking, working, speaking, or resting, remember awareness. At first this is difficult because the mind is habituated to distraction. But with repeated effort, remembrance becomes more natural.

Teacher and student

Jacob: How should a student build a relationship with the teacher?

Rinpoche: The relationship should be based on sincerity, respect, and examination. One should not accept a teacher blindly. First observe, listen, and examine whether the teacher’s conduct and teaching are reliable. Once one has confidence, one should practise the instructions seriously.

The teacher’s task is to point out the path. The student’s task is to practise. If the student only collects teachings, travels from teacher to teacher, and does not apply the instructions, little benefit will come.

The heart of the teaching

Dzogchen is not merely a philosophy. It is a living recognition of the natural state. This recognition must be brought into life. Without integration, even profound words remain words.

The essence is simple, but simple does not mean easy. One must return again and again to awareness, without grasping and without rejecting. In this way, clarity and emptiness are not concepts but direct experience.