"Crowning the banner of the complete teaching of Buddha is the beautiful ornament of the clear light teachings of Dzogpa Chenpo."

Through the practice and realization of these teachings, tens of thousands of beings have become enlightened. The Dzogchen teachings are the clearest, most effective and most relevant for the needs of aspirants today. As Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche said:

"Due to the degeneration of time, human beings' minds have become more complex and deluded in their attachment to the external world. So, this age of extreme confusion demands a teaching of comparably extreme power and clarity. "

The Dzogchen teachings have been passed down in an unbroken line from teacher to student from the Primordial Buddha Samatabhadra to the present day, retaining all their freshness, immediacy and power. As HH Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche further explains:

"Dzogchen is a state, the primordial state, that state of total awakening that is the heart-essence of all buddhas and all spiritual paths, and the summit of an individual's spiritual evolution. "

Historically, the Land of Snows had many Dharma kings who were manifestations of the Three Classes of Deities: Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri, and Vajrapani. The dharma first originated during the reign of the 28th King, Lha-Tho-Tho-Ri-Nyentsen. In 433 A.D. when he was 60, a Buddhist scripture called Pang Kong Chag Gya Pa fell onto his palace rooftops, along with a few other religious objects. During the reign of Songtsen Gampo (617-698), the 33rd King of Tibet, the Tibetan Script was created, and hundreds of temples were built, including Rasa Thrulnang. Scores of sutra teachings were translated and the rules of the divine doctrine of ten virtuous actions and the sixteen worldly principles were laid down. Tibetan history considers this period as the time when Buddhadharma was firmly established in Tibet.

Gradually many scholars and masters who held this tradition came to Tibet, and until the present day the teachings of sutra and tantra continue to be practiced without degeneration. Due to differences in translation between the period of the first or earlier translations and the later translations, there came about in Tibet the traditions of the Nyingmapa (the ‘old ones’) and the Sarmapa (the ‘new ones’). What has been mentioned above is a brief account of the origination of the earlier translations in the beginning, then its subsequent establishment, and finally its dispersion throughout the country.

The Nyingma tradition includes two types of teachings: Kama and terma. Kama teachings are preserved through the lineage of teachers and students. Terma teachings are those which were concealed by Guru Rinpoche for the benefit of future beings and were later revealed by accomplished masters. Large monasteries that practiced both kama and terma teachings came to be known as ‘ma-gon’ or mother monasteries. Smaller monasteries originating from these are called ‘bu-gon’, son monasteries. From these as well small monasteries were born, which are called ‘yang-gon’ or additional monasteries.

Historically, there have been two different listings of the six mother Nyingma monasteries. Earlier they included Dorje Drag, Mindroling and Palri Monasteries in Upper Tibet; and Kathok, Palyul and Dzogchen monasteries in Lower Tibet. Following the decline of Chongye Palri Thegchog Ling monastery and the flourishing of Shechen Monastery, the mother monasteries became Dorje Drag and Mindroling in the upper region, Shechen and Dzogchen in the center, and Kathok and Palyul in the lower part of Tibet. These six great mother monasteries uphold the distinct Nyingma teachings to this day and their reputation reaches far and wide.