Lit up.

The living practice tradition of the Buddha's teachings survives to this day because of two types of transmission- transmission of scripture and transmission of realization.

Transmission of scripture is the living transmission of the repository of Dharma from generation to generation. It is teaching, discussing and practicing the root and practice texts. The transmission of scripture should be wide spread and joyfully given to those who seek it out. 

The transmission of realization occurs between teacher and student. It is the lighting of a torch. Once lit, it burns just as bright and luminous as its source. The source doesn't lose anything, and the newly lit torch has nothing further to gain. 

This transmission of realization is the essence of the practice lineage (sgrub rgyud). It is the transmission of the awakened mind, the direct recognition of our innate buddha heart. In Dzogchen it is the direct realization of our own nature, rigpa as the natural great perfection. 

This lighting of the torch is not easy. It takes time, dedication, effort. It depends on a genuine connection, commitment and karma.

The source torch burns bright and without discrimination, but few torches can really be lit because they don't come prepared.  They are too loose, unkept, or waver once they get close.  Some, being lit, lack the merit to sustain the blaze and burnout. 

You should seek out the transmission of scripture widely and with great enthusiasm.  But for the transmission of realization, you need to get to work.

Have you read this?

A key aspect to the preservation and transmission of the Buddhas teachings lies in the way that they are passed on from generation to generation.  There are certain teachings that anyone can read or practice. 

Choose a book, read it, reflect on it, use it to support your practice.

There are other texts that traditionally require a lung (pronounced with long u).  Lung is the Tibetan for oral or reading transmission.  It is an authorization to study or practice a text, but also more than that.  In order to receive the lung for a text, you need to get it from someone who already has the lung.  So the lung is a living transmission from teacher to student from generation to generation.  The teachings are alive because the lung is intact. 

The key aspect of maintaining the living tradition of the Buddha's teachings is the teacher-student connection. 

This also goes much deeper.  There are hundreds of teachings of the Buddha and other great masters that no longer have a living lineage of transmission.  You could find one of these texts, have it translated and read it.  It might be an amazing teaching that profoundly impacts your life, but who do you talk to about it?  Have you ever read a book that makes a huge impact on your life or perspective?  You want to share it with someone, you want to talk about it, discuss challenging sections. 

The tradition of passing on the teachings through an oral tradition from teacher to student ensures that the student has someone to come back to with questions.  They have a network they can tap into if they need it.

If you could only read books if you received the oral transmission, what do you think you would receive?  If you gave out oral transmissions of books that made an impact in your life, which ones would you want to pass on (assuming you had received the lung to begin with!)? 

If we only read books due to connections we had with others, would you be advocating for giving as many lungs as possible?   

Those before you.

Lineage is important.  It is important in many things and it often gets brushed over, but lineage plays a special significance in the transmission of the Buddha's teachings. 

Lineage ensures a living transmission.  It ensures communication on a personal level, heart to heart, mind to mind.

Lineage is most often traced through one's root teacher.  We all have many teachers in life, but one's root teacher is the one that introduces us to our own nature of mind.  This direct introduction to our own buddhanature is what forms the basis of our path.  We walk the path infused with their blessings.

My own root teacher is Younge Khachab Rinpoche.  Rinpoche trained with many teachers in the monastic tradition as a child, but it wasn't until he met and trained under the Dzogchen yogi Dingri Khenchen that he experienced the subtlety and profundity of the nature of the mind. 

Dingri Khenchen was a great scholar and teacher at Dzogchen Monastery in his youth and spent the great part of his life in secret retreat.  He was affectionately called grandfather by everyone but he was a realized practitioner and scholar. 

Dingri Khenchen was a student and disciple of the great Khenpo Kunzang Palden (Khenpo Kunpal).  Khenpo Kunpal was one of the foremost holders of the Longchen Nyingtig lineage and was renowned for being a great practitioner and scholar.

Khenpo Kunpal was the disciple of Patrul Rinpoche, the wandering yogi and preeminent Dzogchen master.  Patrul Rinpoche's root teacher was Jigme Gyalwe Nyugu, who was the main disciple of Jigme Lingpa. 

That is the close lineage, close in the sense that you can still feel their warmth.  The extensive lineage can be traced all the way back to the Buddha through the succession of teacher and student. 

One heartfelt connection at a time, for thousands of years.