The first of the four supplementary texts found in Book Three, "The Explanation of the View," represents a direct introduction (ngo-sprad pa) to the individual's Base (gzhi) or Primordial State, which is the Nature of Mind (sems-nyid). In Dzogchen, a clear distinction is made between mind (sems), on the one hand, the ordinary thought process (blo), and the Nature of Mind, on the other hand, which is beyond the thought process, yet the matrix for it. "Seeing nakedly" (gcer mthong) means that one's awareness (rig-pa) is unobscured by perceptions, discursive thoughts, and conceptions. However, the individual is not unconscious, but totally and globally aware, being in the condition of the mirror. Here there are three sections or divisions:
1. The direct introduction to the Primordial Base, the Nature of Mind, where this is pointed out to the practitioner by the Lama,
2. The direct introduction by way of certain special activities, and
3. The extensive explanation regarding liberation and delusion.
The first section directly introduces one to the three aspects of the Nature of Mind, as well as their unity, namely,
1. The Mother (rna), which is the Kunzhi (kun-gzhi), "the basis of everything,"
2. The Son (bu), which is Rigpa, or intrinsic awareness,
3. The Energy (rtsal), which is the pure potentiality for all possible manifestations, and
4. Their unity or inseparability (dbyer-med).
The Mother Kunzhi, characterized as the basis of everything, is the Essence (ngo-bo), that is to say, the state of Shunyata, and this is equated with the Dharmakaya. This Kunzhi is distinguished from and should not be confused with the Kunzhi Namshe (kun-gzhi rnam-shes, Skt. alaya-vijnana), which is a type of consciousness. Consciousness (rnam-shes) represents awareness (rig-pa) when it is mixed up with and limited by mind, or mental processes. The Kunzhi is beyond mind and consciousness, but provides the space and matrix for their manifestation. In the text, the Mother is characterized by eight possible designations. The Son Rigpa, is characterized as luminous
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clarity (gsal-ba), and as being the Nature (rang-bzhin). This is equated with the Sambhogakaya. These two, the Mother and Son, are not separate entities or emanations; they have been inseparable from the very beginning (ye nas dbyer-med), like the two sides of the same coin. They are only distinguished for purposes of human understanding. The Kunzhi may be compared to the open and unobstructed dimension of the sky and Rigpa may be compared to the face of the sun appearing in the sky and which illuminates that space. Thus, whereas Kunzhi is compared to space, Rigpa is compared to light. This Rigpa, or intrinsic awareness, is fundamental to existence itself and is not something derived from anything other than itself. Their inseparability represents the potential energy (rtsal) of this illuminated space to give birth to all possible forms and manifestations. This potential energy becomes visible as sounds, lights, and rays (sgra 'od zer gsum). Sounds means subtle vibrations, lights means the pure lights in five colors, and rays means visible forms.
At the moment of true death, on the occasion when even the mind and all its processes and functions have disintegrated and dissolved into the empty space of the Nature of Mind, the Namshe, or deceased consciousness, awakens to discover itself as simply being empty space without limits or borders. But because Kunzhi and Rigpa have been inseparable from the very beginning, the Clear Light of Rigpa, which is intrinsic awareness, inevitablely arises in this clear, open space that is the Nature of Mind. With the dawning of this Clear light of Reality, being the light of the Dharmakaya itself, there arises simultaneously, because of residual karma, a very subtle mind. The Clear Light manifests to this subtle mind as these sounds, lights, and rays. If the awareness of this very subtle mind recognizes the Clear Light as its own face reflected in the mirror of space, it liberates instantly and realizes the Dharmakaya. This occasion is the moment known as the Boundary (so-mthsams) between death and the onset of the Bardo experience, and, therefore, it provides the maximum opportunity for liberating oneself from Samsara and realizing Buddha enlightenment. But if this very subtle mind does not recognize the phenomena of the sounds, lights, and rays as self-manifestations (rang-snang) of the inherent energy of one's Nature of Mind, it comes to erroneously believe that these phenomena are objects external to itself. Thereby it falls into the fundamental existential ignorance of the duality of subject and object (lhan-skyes ma rig-pa) and consequently the delusions of Samsara arise
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The Practice of Dzogchen 1n the Zhang-Zhung Tradition of Tibetonce again. Perceiving them as external objects, subsequently there arises the secondary ignorance which conceptualizes everything (kun brtags rna rig-pa).
This Energy is equated with the Nirmanakaya. From being potential energy, it becomes kinetic as visibly manifest phenomena (rol pa). Initially the primal cognitions of awareness (rig-pa'i ye-shes) arise spontaneously and unceasingly because they represent the inherent potential energy (rang rtsal) of the Nature of Mind. These phenomena are self-manifestations (rang-snang) and they do not appear due to the activity of another (gzhan-snang), to something outside of itself, such as a prior cause or a creator. They are, therefore, radiant and translucent (mdangs), unobscured and uncovered by discursive thoughts and by conceptions. Thus, they are seen nakedly. Thereupon the visions of the Bardo unfold. At the moment of the Boundary following death and the disintegration of the mind, there extend from this single source, the Primordial Base, which is the Nature of Mind, two diverse evolutionary pathways, Samsara and Nirvana, traversed by two types of beings, Buddhas, or enlightened beings, who are liberated, and ordinary sentient beings, who are deluded and bound, and thus still caught up in the rounds of Samsara. Enlightened beings on the side of pure vision behold visions of divine forms and mandalas, whereas deluded sentient beings, on the side of impure karmic vision, behold the six destinies of rebirth. The Mother, the Son, and the Energy are equated with the Trikaya of the Base inherent in evry sentient being, but unrecognized.
Following the death of the material body and the separating of consciousness from it, the Namshe persists as a unit, a combination of psychic energy (rlung) and mental consciousness (sems). Its primal cognitions experience the sounds, lights, and rays. These primal cognitions are present prior to the mind, or thought processes, coming into operation. The individual has a single Nature of Mind and a single Rigpa, even though the Kunzhi, the side of emptiness, is all-pervading like space itself. Individuals are like points of light within this infinite space. For the individual, there is a single Rigpa, but a plurality of Yeshes, or primal cognitions. Thus, whereas Rigpa is compared to the face of the sun visible in the sky, the Yeshes are compared to the rays of the sun that illuminate the surface of the earth. Western books in English usually translate ye-shes as "wisdom." But this is confusing because wisdom as such is a higher intellectual process that is dualistic
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in its operations. Wisdom (shes-rab) distinguishs between true and false, real and unreal, moral and immoral, good and bad, beautiful and ugly, and so on. However, Yeshe is non-dual awareness, present before the mind and the process of perception comes into operation. This follows also from the usage of the term in Sanskrit Buddhist texts, where ye shes translates Sanskrit jnana, which is cognate with Greek gnosis.
The text refers to the inseparability of these three aspects of the Nature of Mind, namely, the Mother, the Son, and the Energy (rna bu rtsal gsum dbyer-med). There is a difference between Yermed (dbyer-med), "inseparability," as used in Dzogchen texts and Zungjuk (zung-'jug), "unification" in Tantra texts. Unification implies that two different things are brought together and merged into one, whereas inseparable means that they have never been separate. Tsal, or potential energy, gives rise to apparitional displays (cho-'phrul), which in modern terms might be though of as holograms, but which involve all five senses and not just visible light. The Namshe finds itself inside this global holographic structure, much like being inside a video game as an actual participant, and not outside looking at a two-dimensional screen. This game is programmed by karma.
In the next section, Rigpa is called "the king who is knowing awareness" (shes rig gi rgyal-po). The term "king" means the most important member of any group. The masses of thoughts that arise are compared to winds and the negative emotions to waves on the ocean which are stirred up by these winds. Delusion comes about because one follows after thoughts and perceptions, taking them to be ultimately real, and not looking back to their source. The delusion system ('khrul-lugs) is the individual's constructed reality, which constitutes Samsara. Samsara, the round of existence, is not just the cycle of death and rebirth, which has continued from time without beginning, but it also refers to the way the individual's mind works. The six aggregates of consciousness {tshogs drug) refer to the five sense consciousnesses, plus mental consciousness. The functional mind (yid, Skt. manas) is like a computer running its many programs day and night. In addition to this, there is an awareness present which is aware of this running of many programs. This is called mental consciousness (yid-shes). Consciousness (rnam-.shes) represents a limiting of Rigpa because it now becomes caught up in time and the running of these various programs and processes by the functional mind. The five poisons are the five defilements, or negative emotions,
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The Pract1ce of Dzogchen in the Zhang-Zhung Tradlt1on of Tibetof anger, desire, confusion, pride, and jealousy. This term Timuk (gti mug, Skt. moha) is often translated as "ignorance," but this does not represent a lack of knowledge, but rather, it is an emotion, therefore, "confusion." The six aggregates of consciousness are compared to rainbows spanning the sky. They arise from the dimension of the sky and later fade and dissolve again into the sky. In the same way, consciousness arises from Sunyata and dissolves again into Shunyata. However, this is not the end of the story because Kunzhi and Rigpa are inseparable. The Nimanakay a is compared here to the rainbow; it is visible, but insubstantial.
As explained in the thrid section, coming face to face with the Clear Light after death, that is to say, with the radiant light of one's own intrinsic awareness, there are two possibilities, namely, proceeding into liberation (grol tshul) or falling again into delusion ('khrul tshul). Liberation occurs when the Clear Light is recognized and understood and delusion occurs when it is not recognized and not understood . This non-recognition is due an existential ignorance, inherent in the dualistic mode of existence of the individual, and is said to be co-emergent (lhan-skyes) because it arises simultaneously with the advent of the Clear Light. At the very beginning, the primordial Buddha Kuntu Zangpo recognized the Clear Light as the light of his own awareness, and, therefore, he never fell into ignorance and the delusions of Samsara. Indeed, he is the Primordial Buddha because he never experienced Samsara. But the rest of the infinite masses of sentient beings did not recognize the Clear Light, and so, lifetime after lifetime, they fell again into rebirth in Samsara. This Samsara was not created by any one at any one point in time. It simply goes round and round like a wheel turning. No point on its circumference or rim can be taken as the absolute beginning for creation. Samsara never had a beginning. It was not created by the Primordial Buddha Kuntu Zangpo, nor by some god. Rather, Samsara is perpetually and continuously generated by the collective karma of all the sentient beings inhabiting it. Thus, they are all participants in the process of creating the world. Instead of remaining on the side of pure awareness and being like the mirror simply reflecting whatever appears before it, the ordinary sentient being follows after the reflections on the object side. Therefore, one does not live in the nature of the mirror, but lives in the reflections. Thus, the visions unfold and evolve. From being originally pure clear lights of five colors, they progressively grow duller and more dense,
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until they become the five great elements which comprise our material universe. These Samsaric visions increasingly appear solid, substantial, and real, whereas actually they are just space and light. The clear white light becomes the space element, the clear green light becomes the air element, the clear red light becomes the fire element, the clear blue light becomes the water element, and the clear y ellow light becomes the earth element. Beginning with these five great elements, there evolve the five skandhas, the five organs of the body, the five bodily cavities, the five sense faculties, the five paths, the five realms, the five poisons, and so on. This process of unfolding represents the evolution of delusion.
Eventually, in terms of cosmology, there appear the three realms or worlds:
1. The Arupadhatu, the formless higher mental realms,
2. The Rupadhatu, the higher mental planes with subtle forms, and 3. The Kamadhatu, the lower worlds where sentient beings are ruler
by their sensual desires.
The Arupadhatu is created by a subtle confusion, the Rupadhatu by the aggressive anger of the intellect, and the Kamadhatu by addiction to sensual desires. Within the latter, the six destinies of rebirth ('gro drug}, or six realms (rigs drug), are generated, namely,
1. The realm of the Devas or gods by an excess of all five poisons, 2. The realm of the Asuras, or anti-gods, by an excess of pride, 3. The human realm by an excess of jealousy,
4. The animal realm by an excess of confusion,
5. The realm of the Pretas, or hungry ghosts, by an excess of desire, and
6. The realm of the hells by an excess of anger.
Note that the correspondences here are little different than found in the Buddhist sy stem.
Encountering the Clear Light, when one understands, that represents the process of liberation (rtogs te grol tshul). Kuntu Zangpo understood and so he was liberated at the very beginning, even though he had done nothing to accumulate good karma. Rigpa arose like the sun at dawn; he recognized its face and became the sun.
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The Practice of Dzogchen in the Zhang-Zhung Tradition of TibetThus, when this occurs, it is said that the Son returns to the lap of his Mother. Practicing contemplation during one's lifetime, one may realize the Son Clear Light, but following death, one encounters the Mother Clear Light Thus, the Son returns to his Mother, his own original condition. With the spontaneous unfolding and evolution of the visions of Nirvana, the five vast spaces (klong lnga) arise and in them there spontaneously appear the five Dhyani Buddhas and their mandalas and realms. This represents pure vision as against impure karmic vision and represents the way enlightened beings see things. This is the evolution of Nirvana in terms of vision.