Eleven vajra topics explained

In Dzogchen, the eleven vajra topics explain the view of the secret instruction series (man ngag sde). These can be found in the String of Pearls Tantra (Mu tig phreng ba), the Great Commentary by Vimalamitra as well as in Longchenpa's Treasury of Word and Meaning (Tsik Dön Dzö). The String of Pearls Tantra briefly lists them as follows:

The eleven topics are:

1. the ground or basis of reality (gzhi), and how it dynamically manifests itself (gzhi snang)
2. how beings stray from the basis
3. the essence of enlightenment present in all beings
4. how primordial wisdom (ye shes) is in all beings
5. the pathways of primordial wisdom in beings
6. the gateways of primordial wisdom in beings
7. the objective sphere for primordial wisdom shining forth
8. how primordial wisdom is experientially accessed through contemplation
9. signs of realization
10. dying and post-death Opportunities in the intermediate states (bar do)
11. ultimate fruition (Buddhahood)

References

Works cited

• Book: Germano, David Francis . 1994 . Poetic Thought, the Intelligent Universe, and the Mystery of Self: The Tantric Synthesis of Rdzogs Chen in Fourteenth Century Tibet . 1.
• Book: Smith, Malcolm . 2016 . Buddhahood in This Life: The Great Commentary by Vimalamitra . Simon and Schuster.