The Vital Essence of Dzogchen: A Commentary on Dudjom Rinpoche's Advice for a Mountain Retreat

A modern commentary on a classic Tibetan text of instructions for practitioners of the Dzogchen tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, with practical step-by-step instructions for advanced Nyingma teachings on realizing the nature of mind.

B. Alan Wallace translates and comments on the text Extracting the Vital Essence of Accomplishment: Concise and Clear Advice for Practice in a Mountain Retreat by twentieth-century Nyingma master, Düdjom Rinpoché, Jigdral Yeshé Dorjé. Düdjom Rinpoché is considered one of greatest tertöns of the twentieth century and also served as the first head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. Wallace elucidates the Great Perfection path, with its central object of meditation being the sustained recognition of the ultimate ground of existence.

Six concise and powerful practices composed by Wallace appear throughout the commentary, and there are several robust appendixes of additional commentarial and translated material. This volume is a manual usable for seasoned Dzogchen practitioners as well as a clear representation of the Nyingma Buddhist path for those interested in broader questions about direct and unmediated spiritual realization. “By extracting the essence of all meditative accomplishment through the practice of Dzogchen,” Wallace states, “you draw forth the vital essence of consciousness itself.”