The following is an excerpt from a teaching given by Kyabje His Holiness Penor Rinpoche at Palyul Ling in New York:
This tradition starts with the Ngöndro Four Foundations, and goes all the way to the great perfection Dzogchen Treckhöd meditation practice. This Dharma teaching on the Four Foundations itself is inconceivably profound. If you have devotion, inclination and faith in this Dharma and do proper practice, then even though one may not have great signs of realization or miraculous activity, at least one will not be scared of dying.
For all the disciples who engage in the Dharma practices, it is most important to have devotion and then pure perception. We mainly concentrate on the Guru Yoga practice, because until we attain complete enlightenment, one must rely upon the master. That is why we pay more attention to it.
There are many other teachings relating to generation and completion stage that you might not understand or might be confused about. Although I don’t have any experience or any kind of realization, I have received all these instructions from my master and everything is in an accomplished state. That is why with all these teaching instructions that you have received, you should always try to carry through practice properly. Don’t pay so much attention to this present life, because there is not much real benefit.
With the intention of liberating and leading all sentient beings to enlightenment, and then from the core of one’s heart try to carry through the Dharma practice. All phenomena by its nature is emptiness, and from emptiness the samsara and nirvana phenomena arise. So don’t just have impure perception. If one understands the interdependent nature, anything is possible.
As explained before when we think of emptiness, we should not understand it as complete voidness. The nature of phenomena and the nature of mind is emptiness. Since everything is emptiness in nature, that is why everything arises. The nature of emptiness is appearance and the nature of appearance is emptiness. That is why appearance and emptiness are non-dual. It is not like a separate identity. All is within one’s mind. Nothing is external.
[chants OM BENZAR GURU PEDMA SIDDHI HUNG]
It is important to always maintain a very positive discipline.