Lhündrub Tögal

"Lhündrub Tögal" is a Dzogchen term and practice which holds the semantic field "leaping over", "direct crossing" and "direct approach". The Menngagde or 'Instruction Class' of Dzogchen teachings are, for instruction, divided into two indivisible aspects: Kadag Trekchö and Tögal (thod rgal). The practise of Trekcho is the basis for the practise of Tögal.

Tögal is the practise of "the six lamps" which constitute the preliminaries and the main practice.

The preliminaries constitute the practise of separating samsara and nirvana, "djungne-drosom".

The term 'lamp' connotes something that dispels darkness and refers to the illuminating quality of ones basic nature. This lamp has six aspects:

#the abiding lamp of the ground
#the citta flesh lamp
#the smooth white channel lamp
#the distant lasso water lamp
#the pure lamp of the expanse
#the bardo lamp of time

Theoretical basis

While the fundamentals of Tögal in both theory and practice are esoteric and barely accessible outside of the oral traditions of Tibetan Buddhism -- there being very little written about it, except in the context of translated practical manuals, e.g., by translator Erik Schmidt et al. -- it can, at least in theory, be understood through the formal analogies that are easily drawn between Tögal and various theories of contemporary science and (to a lesser extent) Western philosophy. These lines of analogy are drawn throughout the works of H.V. Guenther, especially his "From Reductionism to Creativity" and "Matrix of Mystery".

One esoteric text on Tögal is readily available in English translation, 'The Sun's Life-Giving Force' (also known as 'The Circle of the Sun'), by 17th century Tibetan master Tsele Natsok Rangdröl. The translation is found in Guenther's "Meditation Differently".

References

*Schmidt, Marcia Binder (Ed.) (2002). "The Dzogchen Primer: Embracing The Spiritual Path According To The Great Perfection." London, Great Britain: Shambhala Publications, Inc. ISBN 1-57062-829-7 (alk. paper).
*Guenther, Herbert V. (1992). "Meditation Differently: Phenomenological Psychological Aspects of Tibetan Buddhist (Mahamudra and Snying-Thig Practices from Original Tibetan Sources." Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (repr. 2005). ISBN 81-208-0870-3 (hardbound).