IOverview
A-tri, Tibetan a khrid, means instruction on the letter A. It is one of three Dzogchen lineages kept within Yungdrung Bön, alongside Zhangzhung Nyengyud and Dzogchen Yangtse Longchen. Its hallmark is gradual structure: the teaching is divided into a fixed series of meditation sessions, and the practitioner moves through them one by one under the teacher's review.
A-tri is not a separate school. It is a system of practice within Yungdrung Bön, and many Bön masters hold all three Dzogchen lineages at once. The white letter A, the emblem of this system, is also a familiar emblem of Bön Dzogchen in general. Its instruction manuals are usually known by their number of sessions, each tied to the name of the master who wrote it.
IIHistory
According to the Treasury of Lives, Meu Gongdzo Ritrö Chenpo (1038 to 1096) codified the original teachings of the A-tri system. He belonged to the Meu family, one of the lineages that carried Bön after its revival. According to John Myrdhin Reynolds, he drew the teachings from tantric texts, added his own mind treasure, and arranged them into eighty meditation sessions spread over several weeks.
In the 13th century the system was condensed twice. Aza Lodrö Gyaltsen reduced it to thirty sessions. In the same century Dru Gyalwa Yungdrung wrote a fifteen session version, which became the one most widely used.
- 1038 to 1096Meu Gongdzo Ritrö ChenpoCodified A-tri as eighty meditation sessions.
- 13th centuryAza Lodrö GyaltsenCondensed it to thirty sessions.
- 13th centuryDru Gyalwa YungdrungWrote the fifteen session version, A khrid thun mtshams bco lnga pa.
- 1973Per Kværne's studyPublished a study of this meditation system, widely cited by later scholars of Bön.
IIITeachings and Structure
According to the instruction texts, A-tri teaching falls into three parts: view, how one sees, meditation, how one trains, and conduct, how one lives. The white A symbolises the unborn nature of mind. The practitioner uses the image of the A to focus, then lets go even of the image to rest in awareness, rigpa.
Those who complete the full A-tri programme receive the title togden, one who has realisation. Its ordered structure has made it a common entry point to Dzogchen for monastic students before they go deeper into the other lineages.
IVPractice
Students begin with the general Bön preliminaries. In the first sessions they gaze at a white letter A placed before them, often drawn within a five coloured circle, to train attention. Later sessions move from focus on an object to resting without an object, then to recognising the nature of mind and sustaining that recognition in all activity. Each stage ends with the teacher checking the student's experience before allowing the next.
The letter A in this system is not a mantra to repeat for merit. It is an anchor for attention at the start, and later a symbol of what the practitioner must recognise for themselves, not an object of worship.
VWhere It Is Taught Today
A-tri is taught in Bön monasteries, above all in the Dzogchen programmes at Menri in Dolanji and Triten Norbutse in Kathmandu, and in retreats at Bön centres in the West. In the early 2020s Dru Gyalwa Yungdrung's fifteen session text was published in English as The Pith Instructions for the Stages of the Practice Sessions of the A-Tri System of Bon Dzogchen Meditation, translated by Daniel P. Brown and Geshe Sonam Gurung.
VIIn Vietnam
The library has found no A-tri practice group in Vietnam and no Vietnamese translation of A-tri texts.
VIISymbol of the Branch
White A in a five coloured thigle
ཨ་དཀར
VIIIOther Branches of Bön
Yungdrung Bönགཡུང་དྲུང་བོན་ g.yung drung bonThe main living tradition, tracing its teachings to Tonpa Shenrab through Zhangzhung, with its own canon, monasteries and Nine Ways.
Zhangzhung Nyengyudཞང་ཞུང་སྙན་རྒྱུད་ zhang zhung snyan rgyudOne of the three Bön Dzogchen lineages, held to be an unbroken oral transmission, including the master Tapihritsa.Uses the common symbol of the pathA-triཨ་ཁྲིད་ a khridOne of the three Bön Dzogchen lineages, meaning instruction on the letter A, codified by Meu Gongdzo (1038 to 1096).Dzogchen Yangtse Longchenརྫོགས་ཆེན་ཡང་རྩེ་ཀློང་ཆེན་ rdzogs chen yang rtse klong chenThe third Bön Dzogchen lineage, based on a treasure text said to have been discovered in 1080.Uses the common symbol of the pathNew Bönབོན་གསར་ bon gsarA movement from the 14th century centred on Drenpa Namkha, Tsewang Rigdzin and Padmasambhava, blending Eternal Bön with Tibetan Buddhist elements.Uses the common symbol of the pathOld Bönབོན་རྙིང་ bon rnying, also གདོད་མའི་བོན་ gdod ma'i bonThe pre-Buddhist religion of the Tibetan plateau, linked to the early kings.Uses the common symbol of the pathBön Centres in the WestNo shared original name. Centre names: Ligmincha, Shenten Dargye LingSince the late 20th century Bön teachers have founded centres in Europe and the Americas, notably Ligmincha (founded 1992 by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche) and Shenten Dargye Ling in France.Uses the common symbol of the pathIXSources
The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.
?Quick Questions
What does A-tri mean?
Instruction on the letter A. The white A symbolises the unborn nature of mind and serves as the anchor for meditation in this system.
Who founded A-tri?
According to the Treasury of Lives, Meu Gongdzo Ritrö Chenpo (1038 to 1096) codified the original teachings. In the 13th century the system was condensed into thirty and fifteen session versions.
How does A-tri differ from Zhangzhung Nyengyud?
Both are Bön Dzogchen. A-tri stands out for its ordered sequence of sessions, while Zhangzhung Nyengyud is valued as an unbroken oral lineage. Many masters hold both.