The Notion of ‘Effortlessness’ in the Dzogchen Commentaries by Nubchen Sangye Yeshe
Dylan Esler
Entangled Religions - Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of Religious Contact and Transfer November 7, 2025 DOI: 10.46586/er.14.2025.12379 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Dzogchen Effortlessness Contemplation Nubchen sangye yeshe Transcendence-immanence paradigm Spiral |
| Key points | Argues that effortlessness is a key theme in Nubchen Sangye Yeshe's Dzogchen commentaries and that the tradition grapples with the paradox of learning uncontrived effortlessness as a meditative skill. |
Abstract
The present contribution will seek to explore the notion of effortlessness in the Dzogchen commentaries by Nubchen Sangye Yeshe (ca. 844–mid-tenth century), examining its role as a key theme in the self-understanding of the emergent Dzogchen tradition’s approach to contemplative practice. We will also touch upon the (apparent?) paradox consisting of learning the meditative skill of uncontrived effortlessness, where the process of meditative training and the content or ideal of this training are supposed to coalesce.