Aro and the Nyingma mainstream

Düdjom Rinpoche and Dilgo Khyentsé Rinpoche: epitomes of the Nyingma mainstream

Aro is an “unusual” lineage within the Nyingma tradition. Does it contradict other Nyingma teachings? No; none.

I am confident about this. I have read more than a hundred books on Tibetan Buddhism. I have attended teachings and retreats with dozens of teachers from many lineages. I have been an Aro apprentice since 1997. If something in Aro were wrong, I expect I would have found it by now.

The doctrines of Aro are all mainstream. As far as I know, Aro does not have any type of practice that is not found elsewhere. (I discuss this in more detail on a later page.)

What is unusual about Aro is mainly not what it includes, but what it does not. There is very little Mahayoga in the Aro gTér. Mahayoga is the yana concerned with ritual performance and particularly the chanting of texts. This is almost entirely absent in Aro.

To the extent that what Aro includes is unusual, it is only in presenting the other yanas from point of view of Dzogchen. This is orthodox in the Nyingma, but it is not common for it to be done so consistently. In fact, the more common presentation is the other way around. Dzogchen is more often presented from point of view of Mahayoga—that is, as a system of rituals and liturgy.

In fact, there are only two aspects of the Aro teachings that anyone has ever questioned. Those are the teachings on the nine bardos and on vajra romance. You can follow the links to find answers to those questions.