A.H. Almaas Lecture Series

Dzogchen: Understanding Garab Dorje’s Three Vital Points

Date/Time: October 9, 10am-11:30am Pacific

Garab Dorje lived in the first century CE and was the original teacher of the Vajrayana Buddhist practice of Dzogchen, or self-liberation. In Dzogchen, the aim is to recognize one‘s true nature, and this recognition is the central necessity for enlightenment.

Garab Dorje taught that for liberation to happen, three vital “points” must occur:

The direct introduction to one’s own primordially pure nature by a Dzogchen master
Directly ascertaining for oneself this unique state of presence, beyond doubt
Continuing directly with confidence in this growing state of (self-)liberation

Almaas will not be teaching Dzogchen but he will discuss how, though the teaching of the three vital points may seem straightforward, in the West there has been a great deal of misunderstanding of Garab Dorje’s teaching, as Dzogchen practitioners often veer off from what the Tibetan lamas practiced to become great masters.

In this lecture, Almaas will try to clarify the understanding of Garab Dorje’s three vital points, with the hope of benefiting all those who are interested in practicing Dzogchen or in gaining a better understanding of its experiential qualities of emptiness, luminous clarity, and compassion.

The lecture will last approximately 45 minutes followed by a question and comment period.

About the Speaker

A. Hameed Ali was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the US to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his PhD in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general. Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is an author of over 19 different books.

Registration Information

Lecture: Dzogchen: Understanding Garab Dorje’s Three Vital Points

Date/Time: October 9, 10am-11:30am Pacific

The A.H. Almaas Lecture Series was made possible by a generous donor.

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This lecture is one part of a six-part series. If you would like to explore similar programs, you can view the entire series.

Please direct all registration-related questions to the Ridhwan Foundation Communications Team at outreach@ridhwan.org.

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