The Dzogchen Community

The Dzogchen Community is made up of those who are interested in following and practicing the Dzogchen teachings. It was founded by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu in Italy in the second half of the seventies and rapidly developed in various countries around the world, taking on a completely international dimension.

Today the Dzogchen Community has thousands of members in more than 40 countries.

The Community’s organization is also the result of Chögyal Namkhai Norbu’s vision: the Gars ("gathering places" - the larger centers) and the Lings ("islands/places" - the smaller centers) form a great Mandala ("circle") which unites the different geographical areas of the world. Symbolically the Mandala represents the universe as it is perceived by the individual and, in this particular case, the places where the teaching is practiced.

Within the vision of the Mandala there are no hierarchical relationships among the various Gars or Lings, or between Gars and Lings, but only a relationship of collaboration and cooperation.

The Gars are Merigar for Europe (Merigar West in Italy and Merigar East in Romania); Tsegyalgar for North America (Tsegyalgar East in Massachusetts, USA and Tsegyalgar West in Baja, Mexico); Tashigar for South America (Tashigar North in Venezuela and Tashigar South in Argentina); and Namgyalgar for Oceania (New South Wales, Australia).

The Gars are linked to the Lings, which represent the fundamental core of the Community. Many of the Lings are located in large cities (such as Rome, Barcelona, New York and Moscow).

The managerial and organizational functions in the various centers and groups of the Dzogchen Community are  carried out by the Gakyil ("mandala of joy"), an entity made up of three sections (indicated by the colors yellow, red, and blue), which, according to an ancient Buddhist system, correspond to the three aspects of the individual (body, energy, and mind). The yellow Gakyil (linked to the body dimension) takes care of financial management, the red Gakyil (linked to the energy dimension) is responsible for  the activities and projects regarding maintenance and development of the center, and the blue Gakyil (linked to the mind dimension) deals with  the cultural activities and those linked to the practice. The Gakyil is a collective body without any type of hierarchy within it; the decisions are taken by common agreement of all the members. There can be three, six, or nine Gakyil members, who are elected each year. Besides the local Gakyils there is also the International Gakyil which is in direct contact with the Master and performs managerial and coordination functions.