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pure potentiality. It is felt as something quite positive and liberating, not a condition of
deficiency or meaninglessness that need inspire fear, terror, or depression. [28]
Then, due to the inherent energy of that state (de'i rtsal las), which is locked into the
dimension of the Natural State, the state of emptiness itself, there reawakens in the Bardo
the initial manifestations of vibration and light. These self-manifestations, which are the
sounds, the lights, and the rays (sgra ' od zer gsum rang-snang) arise like illusions (sgyu-ma
lta-bur shar) as the expressions of the energies of the Nature of Mind. These photic
phenomena also arise during the course of the practice of Thodgal and the dark retreat,
which both serve as preparations for the Bardo experience. When that display of the Clear
Light arising in the Bardo is understood as being just what one sees or perceives (de'i gnas-
lugs ci lta-ba bzhin rtogs-pas), there will arise before the practitioner, who thus
under stands that they are just self-manifestations arising from the Natural State, all the
virtuous qualities (yon-tan) of the sacred order of Nirvana in the form of pure visions. But
when one does not understand and does not recognize them as manifestations of one's
own Nature of Mind, then all the defects of Samsara or cyclical existence ('khor -ba'i skyon)
are awakened into consciousness. These are the impure karmic visions of the profane
order of Samsara and the various worldly destinies of rebirth. Nevertheless, these visions,
whether pure or impure, arise unceasingly in a manner that is unobstructed (' gag-med kyi
'char tshul). Therefore, the Natural State becomes the basis (gzhir gyur) for both the
coming forth into manifestation of the virtuous qualities of Nirvana and the defects of
Samsara respectively (skyon yon thams-cad ' byung-ba' gzhir gyur-bas). And for this
reason, it is called the Base (gzhi). It is this moment that represents the Boundary between
Liberation and Delusion, the parting of the ways, one leading to Nirvana and intrinsic
freedom and the other to Samsara and bondage to the passions in a endless cycle of death
and rebirth.
IB. The Upadesha concerning t he Pat h
Next there is the Upadesha concerning the Path (lam gyi man-ngag). The Base, which
is the Natural State of the Nature of Mind, represents the non-duality of luminous clarity
and emptiness (gsal stong gnyis-med). Its emptiness side or aspect (stong-cha) is called the
Kunzhi. In general, the Kunzhi is called the Mother because the vast extent of space and
the state of emptiness are felt to be maternal in nature-- It is the source and basis of
everything. It gives birth to all possible phenomena and all possible universes, both pure
and impure. Thus, the Kunzhi, the vast dimension of all existence (bon-nyid kyi dbyings),
is the Great Mother. [29]
However, the Base also has its clarity side (gsal -cha), which is its awareness side (rig-
cha) as well. This side represents the Son. The Son is the Gnosis of Awareness (rig-pa'i ye-
shes); it is without obscurations and inherently clear, like the heart of the sun itself (bu rig -
pa'i ye-shes sgrib-med rang-gsal nyi-ma' i snying-po lta-bu). And it has abided in its own
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inherent form from the very beginning (rang la rang chas su ye nas gnas-pa). Although
these two sides: emptiness and clarity, space and awareness, are equal and coefficient as
the Bodhichitta or the Nature of Mind, generally it is felt that Rigpa is the child or the Son
of the Mother, in he same way as one speaks of the sun as rising into the sky. Thus, in a
sense, the sky gives birth to the sun. Whereas the sun rises above the horizon at dawn, the
sky has been there all the time, whether it is daytime or night. But this is just a
conventional symbolism employed for purposes of human discourse. Human beings see the
sky as background and they see the orb of the sun as foreground and think of them as
being separate, saying for example, that, "The sun is rising in the sky." Nevertheless, these
are only metaphors. Emptiness and clear luminosity, space and awareness, Kunzhi and
Rigpa-- these have been one and inseparable from the very beginning, that is, from before
time came into being by virtue of the sequential ordering processes of the conceptualizing
mind. The Base itself, the Natural State of the Nature of Mind, is beyond time. It is beyond
the mind or thought process, just as the mirror is not the reflections. For us time orders
events in a rigid linear sequence, whereas within the Natural State, which existed before
creation and the cosmic order came into being, all events are simultaneously present in a
single instant. Therefore, this is the base (gzhi) which contains all things and events (kun).
One is directly introduced to it (ngo-sprad-pas) by way of this profound Upadesha
and so, thereafter, one will come to recognizes it (ngo-shes-pa). Thus, one's view or way of
seeing will become unmistaken (lta-ba ma nor-ba yin). This unmistaken view is that of
Dzogchen as cultivated within the practice of contemplation or Tregchod, where one
remains continuously in the Natural State. Thus, whenever one encounters the Natural
State or the Clear Light in the Bardo, one will immediately recognize them as old friends.
And with respect to that, one is mindful (dran-pa) and one' s clarity is without distraction
(ma yengs-par gsal ' debs). That represents the meditation practice (sgom-pa) proper to
Dzogchen as such. However, even though, this being in the state of contemplation of the
Natural State is called meditation (sgom-pa), it is really non-meditation (sgom-med)
because there is no discursive thoughts or activities of the mind present in it.
Contemplation is a state that lies beyond the mind and its conditioned operations.
By means of uniting this view, which is Tregchod, and this meditation, which is
Thodgal, the practitioner comes to forcefully and energetically purify (rtsal sbyangs nyams
su blang) the sounds, the lights, and the rays which are the manifestations or visions of the
Clear Light ('od-gsal gyi snang-ba). This especially refers to Thodgal, which in this text, is
called the practice of the Clear Light. However, this does not mean that one's Thregchod
must be developed and perfected over many years before engaging in Thodgal practice. In
the perspective of the Dzogchen teachings of the Zhang-zhung Nyan-gyud, after being
directly introduced to the Natural State, and developing a certain initial degree of stability
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