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SUMMARY:Effortlessness in Early Dzogchen: Paradox\, Demarcation and Transc
 ending Process
DTSTART:20220914T120000Z
DTEND:20220914T140000Z
DTSTAMP:20260414T100432Z
UID:effortlessness-in-early-dzogchen-paradox-demarcati-8459@ceres.rub.de
CATEGORIES:
DESCRIPTION:BuddhistRoad Guest Lecture by Dylan Esler (Bochum)\n\nThe lect
 ure is a hybrid event. To participate via Zoom\, please pre-register until
  14 September 2022\, 12 pm. Zoom lecture times: 2 pm (Amsterdam\, Berlin\,
  Rom\, Vienna)\; 8 pm (Peking)\; 8 am (East Cost)\n\nEarly Dzogchen though
 t is characterised by its uncompromising insistence on an effortless mode 
 of meditative practice. There is a certain paradox entailed in this positi
 on\, which can be stated as follows: Given that all forms of training invo
 lve some form of effort\, how is one to learn to practise in an effortless
  manner?\n\nTaking stock of this paradox\, this talk will look at the noti
 on of effortlessness from two complementary angles. First\, Dr. Esler will
  consider how effortlessness serves to demarcate Dzogchen from the tantric
  approach of Mahāyoga through rhetorical deconstruction and symbolical tr
 ansposition. Second\, he will seek to show that\, when examined in a conte
 xt-sensitive way\, effortlessness is also more than just a rhetoric of dec
 onstruction. This will lead us to explore the implications of effortlessne
 ss for an understanding of the contemplative path or of what might be term
 ed\, from a comparative point of view\, a transcending process.\n\nTextual
 ly speaking\, the talk will be based on a set of hitherto unstudied commen
 taries by\n\nNupchen Sangyé Yéshé (ca. 844 to mid-10th c.\, Tib. gNubs 
 chen Sangs rgyas ye shes)\, a pivotal figure in the codification of Buddhi
 st lineages in early Tibetan history. His commentaries are devoted to four
  of the so-called ‘eighteen texts of the mind section’ (Tib. sems sde 
 bco brgyad) and they are among the earliest works to articulate a systemat
 ic exposition of Dzogchen thought.\n\n\nDylan Esler is a scholar and trans
 lator of Tibetan Buddhist texts. He holds a PhD in Languages and Literatur
 e from the University of Louvain and an MA in Buddhist Studies from SOAS\,
  London. He presently works at the Center for Religious Studies (CERES) of
  the Ruhr-Universität Bochum on the project An Enquiry into the Developme
 nt of the Dzogchen Tradition in the Commentaries of the Tibetan Scholar Nu
 bchen Sangye Yeshe (10th century)\, which is sponsored by the Federal Mini
 stry of Education and Research (BMBF). Prior to that\, he worked on the DF
 G-funded Nyang ral project\, also at CERES. His research interest focuses 
 on early Nyingma expositions of Dzogchen and Tantra. His recent publicatio
 ns include: “Yamāntaka’s Wrathful Magic: An Instance of the Ritual Le
 gacy of gNubs chen Sangs rgyas ye shes on the Byang gter Tradition via the
  Figure of rGya Zhang khrom\,” Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines 62 (2022): 1
 90–215 and\; “Negotiating the Absence of Ritual: Dzogchen in the Tantr
 ic Manuscripts of Dunhuang and Beyond\,” Journal of the International As
 sociation of Buddhist Studies 44 (2021): 409–440.\n\n\nTo join the lectu
 re\, please register at https://ruhr-uni-bochum.zoom.us/meeting/register/
 u5wkf--qqDIuH92h0aCs_kFY6zLDp4Wl-h6B
LOCATION:CERES Palais\, room "Ruhrpott" (4.13)
URL:https://ceres.rub.de/en/events/effortlessness-in-early-dzogchen-parado
 x-demarcati/
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