The Dzogchen Teachings are neither a philosophy, nor a religious doctrine, nor a cultural tradition. Understanding the message of the teachings means discovering one's own true condition stripped of all the self-deceptions and falsifications which the mind creates. The very meaning of the Tibetan term Dzogchen, "Great Perfection", refers to the true primordial state of every individual and not to any transcendent reality.
Within the Tibetan Buddhist framework, the teaching of Dzogchen, which are also known as Atiyoga, meaning 'Primordial Yoga', are seen as the culmination or pinnacle of all the Buddhist paths to realisation. In essence, the Dzogchen tradition is an inner or heart teaching which is complete in itself.
Dzogchen means Total Perfection and refers to the condition of primordial potentiality of each individual. The method through which we enter into the knowledge of Dzogchen and discover our real condition is called Dzogchen Teaching. The knowledge of Dzogchen goes back to very ancient times, but in our era it was transmitted for the first time by Garab Dorje, a few centuries after Buddha Shakyamuni. Dzogchen has been transmitted without any break in continuity for centuries and centuries, in an uninterrupted lineage from master to disciple down to the present day.
Tibetan letter 'A', a symbol of the Primordial Wisdom