Beyond Words: Dzogchen Made Simple

Rating:
Summary: A very engaging, highly readable, educational overview
Review: (August 5, 2003)

I have registered with online bookstores to give me instant notification of any new book with the word "dzogchen" in the title, so hungry am I to learn more. What a surprise it was to
discover this book, the first dzogchen book I have seen that has been written by "untitled" westerners. Authors Julia Lawless and Judith Allan are not presented as lamas, tulkus, rinpoches, or even as anis, professors or translators. They are ordinary people, albeit with years of practice under their belts, giving testimony to Natural Mind. They speak simply, with joy and gratitude, about the wondrous nature of the dzogchen teachings and of the magnificent teachers past and present who are its principal exponents and our indispensable guides. Their everyman or everywoman perspective is a fresh viewpoint for English-language books in print on dzogchen, and one I feel is an important encouraging and even stabilizing force for sincere practice in Europe and North America.

Although I have been fortunate to spend a lot of time at the feet of Tibetan masters, I learned new things in this book I will always remember. For example, I never knew that the incomparable Garab Dorje, this world's first dzogchen master, started life out with the nickname of "The Happy Zombie". Suddenly I felt much closer in spirit to Garab Dorje. Also, it was news to me, but very good news, that the great master Dudjom Rinpoche predicted that many terma will be discovered in the West and will be aimed specifically at the Western mind.

My thanks go to the publishers for setting the book in 12-point type with wide open spaces and generous leading. The format was literally a sight for sore eyes, as many cost-conscious dharma publishers are on the verge of turning many dharma teachings into literal fine print to save paper and printing costs. I have chronic eyestrain. It was also quite a coup to not only
find Dr. Gyurme Dorje this side of 10,000 yaks, but also to nail him down for a technical review. I hope the publishers did the right thing and paid out a respectable honorarium for such a service.

I have just a few recommendations for improvement. I had the strong impression that the publishers rushed this book into print about two months ahead of schedule, perhaps to have
the book launch coincide with some large and widely attended dharma event. All the tail-end publishing tasks seem to have been dropped. The book has no index. Despite no index, subtitles within chapters are not included in the table of contents. There is the strangest glossary I have ever seen, a list of terms with no definitions. And I was going round the bend with separate lists of numbered footnotes and references. The bibliography listed an interesting-sounding talk by Pir Vilayat Khan, but under "n" for "Notes". I had to look long and hard for this reference.

Regarding the book's focus, it was clear the authors were making every effort to avoid the use of "technical buzzwords", to use a phrase quoted in the book from Dr. Jim Valby, who ironically is himself one of the progenitors of "technical buzzwords" for the western mind, by virtue of his stated part-time occupation as a translator. The book's cover flap mentions "pointing-out instruction", but not the book, although I found one, single reference to "Direct Introduction". As mentioned above, no definitions were provided in the glossary of Tibetan words used in the book. No direct, explicit references were made to key dzogchen terminology such as trekcho and togal. While I appreciate Dr. Valby's concern about the potential preponderance of self-proclaimed masters leaning only on the lingo and a few early translations of tantric rituals for credibility, I don't think such people could cause long-term damage. Let's face it, you can't fake a rainbow body. Thanks to our teachers, westerners will sooner or later see the light.

Rating:
Summary: Using everyday language to communicate complex precepts
Review: Co-written by Julia Lawless and Julia Lawless (practitioners of Dzogchen and conductors of Dzogchen numerous retreats since 1980), Beyond Words: Dzogchen Made Simple is an impressively accessible introduction to the Buddha's teachings, guru yoga and transmission, visions, Tibetan Buddhism as it has been received in the West, and more. Using everyday language to communicate complex precepts of mind and being, Beyond Words is very highly recommended for acclimatizing oneself to the basics of Dzogchen Tibetan Buddhism and an invaluable, core addition to personal studies reading lists and academic Buddhist Studies reference collections.

Rating:
Summary: wigwam...
Review: Maybe a little too simple. But then who doesn't want to believe in the magic lantern, mother goose, brothers grimm, and the occasional flying table cloth? I know I do!