Dzogchen

Dzogchen (Wylie: dzogs chen ) or "Great Perfection", also called Atiyoga, is a tradition of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism aimed at attaining and maintaining the natural primordial state or natural condition. It is a central teaching of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism and of Bon. In these traditions, Dzogchen is the highest and most definitive path of the nine vehicles to liberation.

Etymology

Dzogchen is composed of two terms:

The term initially referred to the "highest perfection" of deity visualisation, after the visualisation has been dissolved and one rests in the natural state of the innately luminous and pure mind. In the 10th and 11th century, Dzogchen emerged as a separate tantric vehicle in the Nyingma tradition, used synonymously with the Sanskrit term ati yoga (primordial yoga).

According to van Schaik, in the 8th century tantra Sarvabuddhasamāyoga

According to the 14th Dalai Lama, the term dzogchen may be a rendering of the Sanskrit term mahāsandhi.