The Fourth Dharma (part one)

(Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche – Quintessential Dzogchen)

All sentient beings, without a single exception, have buddha nature, from the dharmakaya buddha down to the tiniest insect. There is no real difference between individuals in the quality or size of this enlightened essence.

There are four ‘dharmas’ of Dzogchen practice called the ‘Four Dharmas of Longchenpa and Gampopa’. The first three deal with earlier stages of the path and are summarised thus:

The First Dharma:
Grant your blessing so that my mind may be one with the dharma.

The Second Dharma:
Grant your blessing so that the dharma may go along the path.

The Third Dharma:
Grant your blessing so that the dharma may clarify confusion.

The Fourth Dharma:
Grant your blessings so that I may transform confusion into wisdom.

There is an excellent YouTube audio reading of the chapter by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche’s *Quintessential Dzogchen*, which will be an excellent study guide if you have access to it.

Watch on YouTube: Quintessential Dzogchen Reading

This wonderful piece of scripture helps illuminate our current place on the path and points towards our ultimate destination — Buddha-nature.

Buddhahood is not something that arises from outside ourselves when we reach a certain level of realisation. It is not something given to us by an external agency. Buddhahood arises through the recognition of what is already present. Furthermore, the degree of buddha nature is no greater in a Buddha than it is in any other sentient being. This may seem confusing at first but becomes clear upon deeper reflection.

A Buddha experiences a simpler, pure awareness that transcends the normal objects of consciousness. This awareness is present to the same degree in all sentient beings, yet in Buddhas, it is all-pervasive and not limited by mundane senses and thought. Whilst this awareness is the same in all beings, in sentient beings it is obscured by thoughts, feelings, and mundane senses. A Buddha, through deep realisation into the true nature of the mind, has removed these obscuring veils and reached omniscience.

“The mind is luminous, but it is defiled by visiting defilements.”
— *Anguttara Nikaya 1.61, The Buddha*