for them to be practiced, put them down in writing and began to teach. Jigme Lingpa was a reincarnation of two important masters, Vimalamitra and King Trisong Deutsen. As the embodiment of these two figures, Tibet's two primary Dzogchen lineages were combined in him—the Vima Nyingthik and Khandro Nyingthik, both of which are contained in the Nyingthik Yabshi. Hence, the Longchen Nyingthig terma cycle is considered a condensation of these profound teachings. The texts that were revealed by Jigme Lingpa, in their present-day form, comprise three volumes, known as the Nyingthig Tsapod (). The numerous treatises, sadhanas and prayers it contains deal primarily with tantric practice, in particular the 'stages of Development' () and Dzogchen. In Dzogchen In Finding Ease in Meditation (bsam gtan ngal gso), Longchenpa outlines three main categories of preliminary practices. He stresses that these are necessary to the practice of Dzogchen and criticizes those who attempt to skip them. The preliminaries outlined by Longchenpa are often categorized into the following schema: the general preliminaries on impermanence and renunciation of samsara, which corresponds to the Sravakayana; the special preliminaries on compassion and bodhicitta, which corresponds with the Mahayana; the supreme preliminaries, consisting of the generation and perfection phases of tantric Deity Yoga as well as Guru yoga. The Longchen Nyingthig system divides preliminaries into ordinary and extraordinary types. The ordinary preliminaries are a series of contemplations of which there are two main instructional texts. One is based on Atisha's Seven Point Mind Training (Lojong) and is called the Tarpai Temke. The second is the Laglenla Deblug, and contains the following contemplations: appreciating our precious human existence; contemplating death and impermanence; contemplating the faults of samsaric existence; contemplating karmic cause and effect of one's actions; contemplating the benefits of liberation; contemplating the qualities of the lama (teacher); The extraordinary preliminaries, which are discussed in the Drenpa Nyerzhag, are the following: taking refuge in the three jewels; cultivating bodhichitta and the compassionate mind; practicing Vajrasattva recitation, for purification of the gross obstacles; practicing mandala offerings, in which we develop generosity and strengthen our enlightenment-building network of positive force; making kusali offerings of chöd, in which we imagine cutting up and giving away our ordinary bodies; practicing Guru Yoga, in which we recognize and focus on buddha-nature in our spiritual mentors and in ourselves; According to Jigme Lingpa, the preliminary practices are the basis of the main practices, and thus,