The Union ofMahamudra and DzogchenVenerableKhenchen Thrangu RinpocheA Commentary OnThe Direct Instructionsof The Great Compassionate OnebyKarma Chagmey RinpocheTranslated from Tibetan by Lama Yeshe GyamtsoCourtesy Namo Buddha Publications Thrangu Rinpoche"From The Direct Instructions on Mahamudra and Dzogchen. To be published, Fall, 2008."ForewordThese teachings come from the text written by Karma Chagmey [ 1605 - 1670 ] aprominent master of the Karma Kagyu lineage. He authored more than 55 volumes, andhis teachings are so revered that they are practiced to this date in both the Kagyu andNyingma traditions. This text is entitled, The Direct Instructions of The GreatCompassionate One. It is a collection of eighteen chapters and is structured for usagewithin a formal eighteen day retreat. Each chapter is presented in the mornings by theteacher and the students then meditate on the instructions for the rest of the day. In thatway the students are able to travel the entire path, beginning with the preliminaries andincluding the final practices. In addition, countless meditator yogis and lay practitionerswould use this text, as a guide for their practice.In June of 2003, the Ven. Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche presented his commentaryorally on the last nine chapters from the text to a group of students at Crestone, Colorado,with Lama Yeshe Gyamtso providing the translation. Rinpoche omitted the beginningchapters on devotion, the common and the uncommon preliminaries, and began theteachings with the generation of bodhicitta chapter. He then presented the remainingchapters, the generation stage, the completion stage, the Mahamudra sections and theGreat Perfection practices.What follows are Rinpoches comments transcribed from just five of the audio tapes.Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche begins with the direct insight teaching from both traditions,the Mahamudra and the Great Perfection traditions, called the analytic meditation of aPandita. Rinpoche presented pointing out instructions from Rangjung Dorje, the ThirdKarmapa, from Kunga Nangyal, the Fourth Trungpa Rinpoche and from Jigmey Linpathe realized master of the Nyingma tradition. These commentaries contain practicalexamples from these three masters own experiences, which can be applied immediatelyby practitioners. Rinpoche then uses quotations from the Mahasiddha Tilopa, JetsunMilarepa and Guru Padmasambhava, which contain the instructions on the practice ofMahamudra and the view of the Great Perfection, Trekcho.Thrangu Rinpoche is able to bring these direct pointing out instructions into plainview to the students, by sharing his understanding on the meanings in these quotations.In the concluding sections Rinpoche provides the students with the explanation of theDzogchen leap-over practice or Togel instructions. He began by presenting both aspectsto the Togel practice. The preliminary practice is the separation of samsara from nirvana.The samsara part is called the instructions for preventing rebirth in the six realms, and thenirvana part is the contemplation of the Three Jewels and the natural settling of the body,speech and mind. He then taught the second aspect to the Togel practice, the six lamps,the main part of the Togel practice. The six lamps are the training or familiarization toachieve liberation at the time of death in the bardo of dharmata. Through thefamiliarization with these practices in this lifetime the present bardo, the practitioner withthe ability of some recognition of his or her minds nature, can gain the ability not to