A 3-week Dzogchen retreat with Lama Surya Das: Canandaigua, New York, 1997
Perhaps it was hearing John Crook talking about the Tibetan practice of Dzogchen which first sparked my interest. For some time I had been practising Tibetan Buddhism in the Karma Kagyu school, finding its gentler approach a welcome complement to the more rigorous practice of Chan/Zen. Dzogchen, which is sometimes referred to as 'Tibetan Zen', seemed like it might encompass the best of both worlds.
Right from the start, I knew this retreat was going to be different from the Chan and Zen retreats I had attended. When being shown around the centre we were told: "It's your retreat, enjoy it"! Enjoy a retreat! What a concept! This idea was soon in evidence: private rooms, all sitting periods voluntary, all food prepared in the typical smorgasbord 'horn of plenty' American style by the centre's staff. These 'luxurious' conditions, in comparison with the stoic Chan/Zen style, fit well with the general approach of Dzogchen, at least as it is taught by Surya Das: everything is already perfect, you are already perfect, there is nothing to do other than just 'be'. Nothing to struggle for, nothing to overcome.
Surya Das looks more like an American football quarterback than a spiritual teacher, and speaks with a Long Island Jewish-American accent. His list of teachers reads like a who's who of Tibetan Buddhism, including the Sixteenth Karmapa, Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche, Dudjom Rinpoche, Kalu Rinpoche and the Dalai Lama. He completed two back-to-back traditional Tibetan three year, three month retreats in Dordogne, France, although the second turned out to last three years eight months, since Kalu Rinpoche, running on 'Tibetan time', turned up five months late to close the retreat. This Tibetan sense of time also made its mark on our three week retreat: Sonam Rinpoche, who was scheduled to help guide the retreat, at first postponed his arrival, and then halfway through the retreat we were informed that he was unable to come at all.
The core Dzogchen 'method' which Surya teaches is 'sky gazing'. The posture is open, with the hands on the knees, the eyes are wide open and look straight ahead, and the mouth is open. The gaze is unfocussed, and the feeling is of being relaxed, allowing things to just be as they are. Samadhi-like states are discouraged, as is remaining in and indulging in the blissful states that can (and for me did, frequently) arise. The sky gazing is broken up every fifteen minutes or so by singing/chanting a mantra (Chenrezi, Padmasambhava, Vajrasattva or Tara mantra, or simply the one syllable mantra "AH"). At other times the disruption during the sitting periods is more abrupt, with the sudden shout of the word "Phet!", although in deference to Western weak hearts, this would be preceded by a brief "one-two-three". The exception to this was once, in the middle of a sitting period, when Surya suddenly sneezed into his microphone which someone had forgotten to turn off. I'm sure the person beside me rose at least six inches off her cushion in fright, the entire hall broke into laughter, and Surya simply smiled sheepishly and said in a small voice "phet....". (Interestingly from the point of view of Zen, after the Phet 'wake up call', Surya urges looking into who or what just got a surprise - what he refers to as a "laser-like" question, which could be seen as Dzogchen's version of the universal koan).
Humour could be called an essential ingredient of Dzogchen practice, which Surya admits he took some time to learn: he recounted how a former girlfriend used to call him "Serious Das", and a "dharma drone". Now his talks are humour filled (something I have noticed with Buddhism in general, that one mark of a good teacher is an ever-present, down-to-earth humour): when encouraging his students in singing mantras Surya reminds them "there's no need to be shy, after all, it's a Buddhist prayer: nobody's listening". Two other teachers assisted Surya during the retreat: Charles Genoud, a softly-spoken Swiss, and Brandon Kennedy, a Korean-American who is also a student of the Dalai Lama.
Charles has developed a form of 'moving Dzogchen', which he calls the "gesture of awareness", and if it could be said to have a goal, it would be to extend the sky gazing practice into one's every movement, really being in the present moment, without an agenda. On one particular occasion, he had everyone sit behind the wheel of a car and just 'be', rather than the more usual practice of being merely physically there and mentally already at one's destination. Brandon has an emaciating illness, collected during a trip through India and Tibet 20 years ago. Despite this affliction which on many occasions leaves him struggling for breath, he is also humour-filled, and even thanks his illness for helping reduce his self-described over-inflated ego. After succumbing to pressure from the participants, one afternoon he told his remarkable life story, which ranged from his childhood as an orphan in Korea, through befriending US soldiers and being adopted by an American family, careers in photography and downhill ski racing to his discontent with his success and worldly achievements, and his subsequent trips to India where he met Surya and later the Dalai Lama. His descriptions of his harsh treatment as an orphan at his countryman's hands (which have left him with a croaking voice, the result of attempts to retain his unbroken singing voice by forcing him to continuously scream), leave one in awe of his gentleness and lack of resentment.
In addition to the sky gazing, and teachings from Charles and Brandon, Surya gave progressive instruction each morning on Tibetan Yoga and would give talks in the evening, although these would more often principally be question-and-answer, a format he prefers. During these talks and particularly during question time, it was clear that Surya's theoretical knowledge of Buddhism is encyclopaedic, although he prefers to address issues in his own words and from his own experience, and avoid simply repeating what he had read or someone else had said. (Interesting exceptions to this were his occasional citations of Zen masters, particularly Dogen and Suzuki Roshi). Two of his senior students on the retreat were Professors of Buddhism, and would every so often ask theoretical questions, or pull Surya up on particular points he was making. Surya's responses to them, which invariably cut directly through the theory to the living heart of the matter, clearly showed his intimate knowledge of the subject matter, which can only come from direct personal experience.
If I were to have any reservation about Dzogchen for myself, as it is taught by Surya, it would be that I found the relaxed attitude in a sense even more demanding, in that it replaced an externally-derived discipline with the need for finding the application within oneself and, being rather prone to laziness, I still feel the need for the discipline of Chan/Zen. I also find great benefit in the calmness and insight that extended periods of uninterrupted Chan meditation can bring.
The three weeks passed surprisingly quickly. Other high points included sky gazing sitting outside the retreat centre, where the wonderful 180 degree view of the lake below greatly enhanced one's overall feeling of wellbeing; and one night when the participants gathered on the hill overlooking the lights of the houses reflected on the lake, and sang the Tara mantra continuously for about an hour. At the end of the retreat I really felt that at least some part of the view of everything already being perfect somehow stayed with me, and gave a wonderful feeling of release. This has become an integral part of my meditation method, when occasionally I simply let go of all methods and just 'be'. To give the last word to Surya: "Its like playing basketball on a court where the hoop is bigger than the court itself: you can't miss".
Anyone wanting to know more about Surya Das and his teachings, may wish to look at his website, where you can download many of his talks: www.dzogchen.org
