Sem-dé

Sem-dé (sems sDe) is the Mind series of Dzogchen — one of three “series” into which the Dzogchen teachings are divided. It contains the most extensive body of teaching on sem (conceptual mind) and sem-nyid (nature of Mind).

Key Points

• Three Dzogchen series (traditional division):
  • Sem-dé — Mind series
  • Long-dé — Space series
  • Me-ngag-dé — Series of Implicit Instruction (Aro gTér translation choice; also called Secret / Esoteric Instruction Series; Skt. upadeśa) Roaring Silence treats Sem-dé and in particular its preliminaries. Ch.13 Glossary names all three series and finalizes the triad.
• Terminology caution: Sem-dé has sometimes been mistranslated as “mental series” or “mental class” by those unfamiliar with Dzogchen vocabulary. Ch.1 Q&A addresses this directly — “that would be a misconception based upon translating the sem in Dzogchen Sem-dé as little-m mind, which, while accurate, is not actually what sem means in that context.” Here, sem is a contraction of sem-nyid (nature of Mind) — not the lowercase “conceptual mind” reading. It is also said to be a contraction of changchub-sem (byang chub sems) — bodhicitta — which in the Dzogchen context is synonymous with sem-nyid, not the Sutra-cultivation reading. See Mind and mind.
• Preliminaries: the Four Naljors are the Sem-dé ngöndro in the Aro gTér cycle. They are distinct from the Gyüd-pa’i ngöndro zhi (four Tantric preliminaries).
• Actual practice: Ch.10 footnote 3 reveals that “the actual practice of Dzogchen Sem-dé is called the Four Ting-ngé’dzins (meditative absorptions, or samadhis) — nè-pa (undisturbed), mi-gYo-wa (unmoving), nyam-nyid (undivided), and lhun-drüp (uninhibited spontaneity).” The Four Naljors are ngöndro for the Four Ting-ngé’dzins. Roaring Silence as a handbook develops the Four Naljors; the Four Ting-ngé’dzins are the actual Sem-dé curriculum requiring direct transmission.

Related

• Dzogchen — the parent teaching
• Long-dé — the Space series; peer series
• Me-ngag-dé — the Series of Implicit Instruction; peer series
• Four Naljors — the Sem-dé preliminaries taught in Roaring Silence
• Four Ting-ngé’dzins — the actual Sem-dé practices (nè-pa / mi-gYo-wa / nyam-nyid / lhun-drüp); Ch.10 fn.3
• Mind and mind — the sem / sem-nyid distinction Sem-dé develops
• Changchub-sem — bodhicitta / the Dzogchen-context synonym for sem-nyid
• Ngöndro — category of preliminary practice
• Roaring Silence - 10 The Dimension of Nongradual Approach — source: the actual Sem-dé curriculum revealed in footnote 3
• Roaring Silence - 13 Glossary — source: Ch.13 canonical definition, “Series of the nature of Mind”