According to the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition, Dzogchen is the direct experience of enlightenment. In Roaring Silence, Vajrayana teachers Ngakpa Chogyam and Khandro Dechen walk us through meditation techniques that "enable us to side-step the bureaucracy of intellectual processes and experience ourselves directly" -- to discover this direct experience of enlightenment that is the mind of Dzogchen.
Surprisingly, the approach is very pragmatic. Offering an overview of the necessary steps, the authors begin with how to prepare for the journey: the lama is essential; as are a sense of humor, inspiration, and determination. They continue by describing the path of Dzogchen from sitting meditation to the direct perception of reality.
The chapters include exercises for sharpening the presence of our awareness, for simple visualizations, and for investigating how to "remain uninvolved" with mental activity for a period -- with follow-up guidance on how to view our experiences. Both practical and inspirational, the authors' exquisitely precise guidance is all presented with the caveat, "be kind to yourself, don't push yourself beyond your limits."

Roaring Silence : Discovering the Mind of Dzogchen, Ngakpa Chogyam and Khandro Dechen, Shambhala Publications, Paperback, 181 pp. $19.95

Chogyam is a lama in the Nyingma School of Vajrayana Buddhism in the lineage of the Aro gTer.
Dechen is a lama in the Nyingma School of Vajrayana Buddhism.

Foreword	ix
Acknowledgments	xix
Introduction	1
Dzogchen: An Introduction	13
Sky and Mind	15
Thoughts and Clouds	29
Presence and Awareness	47
Nakedness and Perception	53
Ocean and Waves	59
Dzogchen: Principal Means of Entry	71
Flight	73
Journey into Vastness	81
Beyond Emptiness	89
Dzogchen: Interface with Totality	111
The Vivid Portal	113
The Dimension of Nongradual Approach	117
Questions and Answers	127
The Confederate Sanghas of Aro	163
Glossary	167
Index	171