Dawa Gyaltsen () was a

Dzogchen Dzogchen ( 'Great Completion' or 'Great Perfection'), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Bön aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. The goal ...

master who lived in the 8th century in the area of

Zhangzhung Zhangzhung or Shangshung was an ancient kingdom in western and northwestern Tibet, existing from about 500 BCE to 625 CE, pre-dating Tibetan Buddhism. The Zhangzhung culture is associated with the Bon religion, which has influenced the philos ...

. His body of work includes the Fivefold Teaching: # Vision is mind. # Mind is empty. # Emptiness is clear light. # Clear light is union. # Union is great bliss. The Five-fold teaching is intended to provide a path to awakening. Practitioner

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

, in conjunction with

pointing-out instruction The pointing-out instruction () is an introduction to the nature of mind in the Tibetan Buddhist lineages of Mahāmudrā and Dzogchen. In these traditions, a lama gives the pointing-out instruction in such a way that the disciple successfully ...

of a qualified master, is intended to introduce the primordial and true nature of mind. Dawa Gyaltsen's teaching were passed on through several notable students, including

Tapihritsa Tapihritsa or Tapahritsa (c 7th ~ 8th century) was a Bon practitioner who achieved the Dzogchen mastery of the rainbow body and consequently, as a fully realised trikaya Buddha, is invoked as an iṣṭadevatā () by Dzogchen practitioners in bo ...

, and continue to be taught to this day by

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche ( Tib. o thog bstan 'dzin dbang rgyal) is a teacher (lama) of the Bon Tibetan religious tradition. He is founder and director of the Ligmincha Institute and several centers named Chamma Ling, organizations dedicated to t ...

and other heirs of the lineage.

References

Bon Dzogchen lamas {{Tibetan-Buddhism-stub