Perfect Clarity

ou heard of anyone who recognized nondual awareness simply by reading books? Aside from receiving blessings, gathering the accumulations, and purifying obscurations, no other technique exists for recognizing rigpa.
Devotion is more important than scholarship. One could possibly gain impressive skill in debate and in analytical thought yet still find fault in the dzogchen teachings, believing them to be the erroneous view of followers of Hashang’s school of Sudden Illumination.
Receiving blessings refers to a moment of deep devotion. Recognizing rigpa through mere intellectual speculation is indeed very difficult. The Kagyü and Nyingma schools emphasize the simple resting meditation of a kusulu as opposed to the analytical meditation of a pandita. Through the single method of devotion, receiving the blessings, and focusing on meditation, countless practitioners of the past have reached accomplishment.
The Kagyü and Nyingma are known more for a long line of realized masters than for great scholars. Although there have been several learned masters, for the most part, Kagyü and Nyingma followers have been male and female lay practitioners. The fact that countless numbers of these practitioners died while sitting up in undistracted wakefulness is due to this tradition of simple, direct teachings. You can read about this yourself in the wondrous histories of the followers of the Nyingma school, as well as of the various Kagyü lineages. However, one example is the siddha Seltong Shogom, who, together with a gathering of his disciples, left more than thirty clear footprints in solid rock. When I was young, my father took me to see these footprints in Eastern Tibet. In several places the rock had been molded like dough. Amazing!
On the fifteenth day of the lunar month, the full moon sets simultaneously with the sun’s rising—there is no gap between these two events.

Exerting ourselves in practice, alone and with perseverance,

May we not drift toward the concerns of this life for an instant.

Perfecting the siddhis in the footsteps of the forefathers,

May we always please our spiritual master.

Understand that the signs for being on the correct path are a spontaneous increase in faith, compassion, and intelligence.