The Marvelous Primordial State
A Fundamental Scripture of Dzogchen Semde.
Key Words
- Akanishta
- Contemplation
- One's self — simple, pure, and indefinable presence
- Pure awareness & luminous clarity
- Sugatas
- Vajrasattva
Chapter 3: The True Nature of Reality
This chapter explains that reality is one’s natural state. This in itself is the
essence of enlightenment, beyond a goal to be reached in time. Thus, there is no enlightenment to be sought, and no objective to be attained. Those who search for an enlightenment outside their actual condition are moving further and further away from it. Reality is the emptiness, the primordial purity, that is the basis from which all phenomena arise, and these phenomena have no essence. Thus, since nothing really exists, there is nothing on which to meditate. Luminous awareness of one’s self, beyond subject and object, expands without the need for an intentional meditation. Experiencing this, one finds that all things are perfect and makes no distinction between enlightened and ordinary sentient beings.
Chapter 4
Pure awareness whose nature is luminous clarity, is the dimension of perfect resources; the variety of phenomena in which such clarity appears, is the dimension of emanation; and the unborn nature of the mind and phenomena, regardless of how they appear, is the dimension of reality.
Chapter 8: The Path of Liberation
Central chapter to the text.
The Teacher sets forth the five ordinary emotions of attachment, anger, ignorance, pride, and jealousy as the raw material for the Dzogchen path of natural liberation.
Abandonment (Sutras) and Transformation (Tantras) vs Self-liberation of Atiyoga.
In Dzogchen, as the title of this chapter indicates, the five emotions in their ordinary aspects are paths to liberation. How? If one recognizes emotions as the energy of one’s state without falling into duality. If, when emotions arise one remains in the natural condition—in the unborn essence of mind—with no moral judgment regarding the content of what is arising in the mind and with no attempt to correct the ongoing experience, the emotions will naturally disentangle themselves without having to be abandoned or transformed.
In Dzogchen the five emotions in their ordinary aspects are paths to liberation.
How?
If one recognizes emotions as the energy of one's state without falling into duality.
If one remains in the true condition (in the unborn essence of mind) when emotions arise
In the moment of disentanglement, emotions are spontaneously recognized as the five wisdoms. Thus, if one remains anchored to the unborn essence of mind, when attachment arises upon encountering something agreeable, the mind’s essence manifests with pleasure: this is the discerning wisdom of the Lotus family of Amitabha. Anchored in the same way, when anger arises upon encountering something disagreeable, the mind’s essence manifests with clarity: this is the mirror-like wisdom of the Vajra family of Akshobhya. When ignorance arises upon encountering something neutral, the mind’s essence manifests in the absence of thoughts: this is the wisdom of the expanse of the true nature of reality of the Transcendent family of Vairocana. When pride arises upon meeting an inferior, the mind’s essence manifests as the stillness of no differentiation: this is the wisdom of total sameness of the Jewel family of Ratnasambhava. When jealousy arises upon meeting an equal or a superior, the mind’s essence manifests as the perception that all things are dependent on mental judgments of high and low, good and bad, and so on: this is the wisdom that accomplishes the activities of the Action family of Amoghasiddhi. In this perspective, far from being an impediment, the emotions manifest as the path of freedom.