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Four Visions

The “four visions” there are the classic four visions of tögal in the Nyingtik / Pith Instruction Series. The Lotsawa House page does not spell them out at that point; it assumes the technical Dzogchen meaning. In the same section, it is discussing the Pith Instruction Series, especially the ultra-secret unsurpassable cycle, and says this cycle does not “foster hopes” about some future fruition through the four visions because they lead to the primordial ground within this lifetime. ([Lotsawa House][1])

They are:

  1. Direct realization / direct appearance of dharmatā

Tibetan: chos nyid mngon sum

This is the direct showing of the nature of reality — not merely thinking about emptiness or dharmatā, but dharmatā appearing directly.

  1. Increasing experience / increasing appearances

Tibetan: nyams gong ’phel or nyams snang gong ’phel

The visionary display intensifies. In a very general way, the spontaneous display of awareness becomes more vivid and expansive.

  1. Awareness reaching full measure

Tibetan: rig pa tshad phebs

Rigpa reaches its full scope or maturity. The display is no longer taken as something other than awareness’s own radiance.

  1. Exhaustion of phenomena into dharmatā

Tibetan: chos nyid zad sa / chos nyid zad pa, also rendered chos zad blo ’das in some translation traditions

Phenomena are exhausted into the nature of reality — not destroyed as things, but no longer sustained as solid, dualistic appearances.

Rigpa Wiki gives the same four as: direct realization of reality itself, increasing experience, awareness reaching full maturity, and dissolution of experience into the nature of reality. ([Rigpa Wiki][2]) Rangjung Yeshe Wiki similarly glosses them as the four tögal stages: manifest dharmatā, increased experience, awareness reaching fullness, and exhaustion of dharmas beyond concepts. ([Rangjung Yeshe Wiki][3]) Your Flight of the Garuda glossary also identifies these as the four visions or stages of experience on the path of thögal.

So, in plain terms: these are the four unfoldings of spontaneous presence in tögal, moving from dharmatā becoming directly evident, through increasing luminous display, to the fullness of awareness, and finally the exhaustion of phenomena into basic space. 🌈

[1]: https://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-masters/shechen-ontrul-gyurme-tutob-namgyal/vima-nyingtik-karchak "Vima Nyingtik Karchak | Lotsawa House"

[2]: https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Four_visions "Four visions - Rigpa Wiki"

[3]: https://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/Togal_Vision "Togal Vision - Rangjung Yeshe Wiki - Dharma Dictionary"