Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, The Crystal and The Way of Light: Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen, compiled and edited by John Shane (Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 2000) (The term self-liberation should not . . . be taken as implying that there is some 'self' or 'ego' there to be liberated. It is a fundamental assumption . . . at the Dzogchen level, that all phenomenon are devoid of self-nature and it is understood that no phenomenon has inherent existence. Self-Liberation, in the Dzogchen sense, means that whatever manifests in the field of the practitioners's experience is allowed to arise just as it is, without judgment of it as good or bad, beautiful or ugly. And in that same moment, if there is no clinging, or attachment, without effort, or even volition, whatever it is that arises, whether as a though or as a conceptualization of a seemingly eternal event, automatically liberates itself, by itself, and of itself. Practicing in this way, the seeds of the poison tree of dualistic vision never even get a chance to sprout, much less to take root and grow." "So the practitioner lives his or her life in an ordinary way without needing any rules other than one's own awareness, always remaining in the primordial state thorough integrating that state with whatever arises as part of experience--with absolutely nothing to be seen outwardly to show that one is practicing. This is what is meant by self-liberation, this is what is means by the name Dzogchen--which means Great Perfection--and this is what is meant by non-dual conemplation or simply contemplation." Id. at 52-53.).
Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, The Cycle of Day and Night: An Essential Tibetan Text on the Practice of Dzogchen, translated and edited by John Reynolds (Barrytown, NY: Station Hill Press, 1984, 1987) (From the backcover: "Central to Dzogchen, 'the Great Perfection,' is contemplation--the immediate experience of the primordial state of the individual, the unconditional nature of the mind. This nature of the mind transcends the specific content of mind, the incessant flow of thoughts reflecting our social, cultural, and psychological conditioning.").
Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural Light (Revised and Enlarged Edition), edited and Introduced by Michael Katz (Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 1992, 2002).
Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, Dzogchen: The Self-Perfected State, edited by Adriano Clemente, and translated from the Italian by John Shane (Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 1996) ("An individual is said to be like a little bird closed up in and protected by a cage. The cage here is a symbol of all the limits of our body, voice, and mind, But the cage in the example is not meant to indicate some especially horrible abnormal situation; rather it is meant to describe the normal condition in which a human being lives. The problem is that we are not aware of the situation we actually find ourselves in, and are in fact afraid to discover it, because we have grown up in this cage since we were little children." Id. at 36. "When we are aware of our limits there is the possibility of overcoming them. A bird which lives in a cage gives birth to its children in the cage When they are born, the little birds have wings. Even if, in the cage, they can't fly, the fact that they are born with wings shows that their real nature is to have contact with the open space of the sky. But if a bird that has always lived in a cage suddenly escapes from behind its bars, it could encounter many dangers, because it doesn't know what to expect out there. It may be devoured by a hawk, or caught by a cat. So it is necessary for the bird to train a little, flying about a bit in a limited space, until, when it feels ready, it can definitely take flight." "It's the same for us: even if it is difficult for us to overcome all our limits in an instant, it is important to know that our real state is there, beyond all conditioning factors, and that we really do have the possibility to rediscover it." "We can learn to fly beyond the limits of our dualistic condition, until we are ready to leave it behind altogether. We can begin by becoming aware of our body, voice, and mind. Understanding our true nature means understanding the relative condition and knowing how to reintegrate with its essential nature, so that we become once again like a mirror that can reflect any object whatsoever, manifesting its clarity." Id. at 37-38.).
Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, Dzogchen Teachings, edited by Jim Valby and Adriano Clemente (Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 2006) ("BREATHING AND MOVEMENT: In Yantra Yoga there are many positions similar to those of Hatha Yoga, but the way of getting into the positions, the main point of the practice, and the consideration or point of view of the practice of Yantra Yoga are different. In Yantra Yoga, the asana, or position, is an important point, but is not the main one. Movement is more important. For example, in order to get into an asana, breathing and movement are linked and applied gradually. Each movement is divided into periods of time consisting of four beats each: a period to enter the position, a period to remain in the position, and then a period to complete the position. As everything is related in Yantra Yoga, the overall movement is important, not only the asana." Id. at 131-132.).
Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, The Lamp That Enlightens Narrow Minds: The Life and Times of a Realized Tibet Master, Kyentse Chokyi Wangchug, translated from the Tibetan into Italian, edited, and annotated by Enrico Dell'Angelo; and translated into English by Nancy Simmons (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2012) ("Today, all think that the venerable people in the Land of Snows the good land blessed by Avalokitesvara, who followed the teachings of the Buddha, did not merit such intolerable distress, If we think for a moment, however, we realize that such events are none other than the fruit of karma. This is the meaning of what Lord Atisa said with so much emphasis: 'If not practiced correctly, the dharma itself becomes the cause of the inferior states.'" "What else if not the fruit of their negative actions could these individuals with limited minds obtain, who full of hatred and attachment of religious sectarianism and bigotry, developed ever more useless fears and expectations? Many, persisting in this sectarian vision, still continue through their rancor and narrow-mindedness to accumulate negative actions in the same way that, as the proverb has it, 'one stretches one's legs in a bed that is already warm.'" "Alas! Masters, manifestations of Manjusri, father and son, you who dwell in the condition of peace, behold the ignorance that darkens our minds shut in the cage of narrow-mindedness. With the power of the light of compassion's rescuing lasso, dispel in an instant the dense shadows of ignorance due to narrow vision. Develop in us the vision of wisdom." Id. at 99-100. From the backcover: "The Lamp That Enlightens Narrow Minds tells the remarkable story of Khyentse Chokyi Wangchug (1909-1960), a realized Tibetan tulku (reincarnated lama or teacher) and reincarnation of the great nineteenth-century master Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. Author, Dzogchen Buddhist scholar, and internationally known teacher Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, Chokyi Wangchug's maternal nephew and disciple, and himself a high-ranking tulku, describes in intimate detail the important events of Chokyi Wangchug's life, his spiritual practices, and the challenges he faced at a time of vast change and political upheaval in Tibet. Mantaining his sense of equanimity and dedication to the Buddhist teachings while navigating the complexities of Tibetan religious hierarchy and the invasion of Tibet by Chinese forces he was captured by the Chinese and died in prison in 1960. Upon his birth in 1970, the son of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, Khyentse Yeshe, was recognized as the current reincarnation of Khyentse Chokyi Wangchug by H.H. Sakya Tridzin, the head of the Sakya Order of Tibetan Buddhism.").
Chogyal Namkhai Norbu & Adriano Clemente, The Supreme Source: the Kunjed Gyalpo, The Fundamental Tantra of the Dzogchen Semde, translated from the Italian by Andrew Lukianowicz (Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 1999) (From the backcover: "The aim of Dzogchen is the reawakening of the individual to the primordial state of enlightenment which is naturally found in all beings.... The direct path of self-liberation is very different from the other Buddhist paths or renunciation, peculiar to the sutras, and transformation, peculiar to the tantras. The Dzogchen practitioner is aware of the absolute clarity and purity of his or her own mind, and, without trying to modify what is already perfect in itself, without striving to obtain from somewhere else the state of realization, remains always in the real nature of existence, in the supreme source of phenomena. 'Those who try to mediate and to realize this condition through effort are like a blind man chasing the sky.'").
