Roaring Silence

Discovering the Mind of Dzogchen

By Ngakpa Chögyam (Ngak’chang Rinpoche) and Khandro Déchen

This is a guide for anyone wanting to deepen their meditation practice and a key text for Aro students. It discusses in depth the preparation practices for Dzogchen (which include shi-nè and lhatong meditation) and gives an introduction to Dzogchen itself.

Roaring Silence guides the reader through a series of nine practical sitting exercises – constantly encouraging the testing of experience against the theory. It is more than a manual however – it explains the practices within the context of Dzogchen. It is down to earth and accessible, yet shimmers with the realisation of the path described.

Ngak’chang Rinpoche and Khandro Déchen demonstrate that through our own practice we have access to a world of extra-ordinary ordinariness. It is not beyond our capacity to experience and re-experience ­in every moment ­the fresh and startling reality of non-duality. This book inspires you to bite the bullet in terms of living on the precipice of total openness and awareness in every moment – and then shows you how.

Roaring Silence is the basis for all the Aro meditation programmes.

Roaring Silence was praised by Kidder Smith, Professor of History and Asian Studies at Bowdoin College, in Religious Studies Review, Volume 29 Number 4 / October 2003, pp. 390–391. Excerpts:

Chogyam and Dechen are western lineage holders in the Dzogchen tradition of the Aro-ter. Their book sets out this simple, yet difficult, theory/practice with uncommon clarity, from initial preparations on through to direct perception. Chogyam and Dechen write with sparkling intelligence. In many ways, then, this is the best single introduction to the Dzogchen path. Recommended to all with an interest in Buddhism or comparative soteriology.