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In the Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyü there is a very important explanation of the Rigpa. It is also a very rare kind of
explanation and is honoured because of its clear distinction. It explains that there are three kinds of Rigpa. Usually one
question arises in the normal usage of explanation of the Rigpa. If the Rigpa is never distracted in its base or essence and it
is like Buddhahood, does that mean that we don`t need to practise. If Rigpa is never distracted we shouldn`t need any
practices to overcome our own distraction.
This first Rigpa is called khyabrig, with the meaning of all pervading awareness; in Tibetan kun khyab means all
pervading, rig stands for Rigpa which is usually rendered as pure awareness. This rig, which is not awareness in our normal
way of understanding as being aware of something, but awareness as nature or essence which is presence. This first Rigpa
we are talking here is called khyabrig or whole pervading because it is everywhere. It is the base. It is primordially perfect.
For example the sun in the sky, meaning there is light everywhere in the whole sky and at the same time there is the
reflection of the sun in the water, the ocean; There is a light, this light in and on the water which reflects on the wall and on
the wall there is again sunlight from the top. This different forms of sunlight have differnt qualities like a very heat quality,
one has a very wet quality, one is a dry quality but still all have the quality of sunlight in that specific quality. This means
this first Rigpa is everywhere, in each base, therefore kunkhyab (kun khyab) - all pervading or pervading the whole
existence.
The second kind of awareness is called samrig (bsam rig), which means consciousness-awareness. This
consciousness awareness is very important because it is this where we usually have problems. Problem in the sense that we
have usually understanding and non-understanding. All our questions which arise from this consciousness-awareness. When
we do not understand and when we are distracted we go to the master and try to receive teachings. Then we try to practise
and when we manage to practise in the right way we come to an understanding. Sometimes we are distracted, sometimes
not. These changes of awareness is called samrig or consciousness-awareness. Before we explained the external vision, we
said that there are no limitations. Everything is possible. In the same way as the visions are not limited our awareness is
omnipervasive. Our awareness has no limitations. It can perceive everything in an equal taste. The problem is just our
consciousness which is our conceptual consciousness. It comes as the dualistic mind and it is at that point that we don`t
understand anymore the things which are actually quite simple. This mind blocks ourselves to understand. When it does not
arise we understand things how they are. This is the function of the consciousness-awareness. It is different from the first
awareness which is always present. Before, in the teaching there was this explanation to just leave it in that
omnipervasiveness, this awareness pervading everything. It is the potential or possibility of all visions. To leave it there
means don`t move the other consciousness-awareness, which is grasping.
Then, there is the third one which is called yerig or primordial-awareness. This is more connected with the second
one, the conciousness-awareness. There is always the unification of the Rigpa as a consciousness-awareness with the vision.
It is not seperate. It is pure. It has the quality that there is always presence in the vision, therefore it is called primordial.
Even if it were to be distracted it is not really distracted. There is this consciousness on this awareness which is always there
and this is called primordial. It is the one which always stays in presence, and with this presence I integrate all my visions.
That means that through my consciousness I actually remove my distractions and integrate everything with this
consciousness-awareness samrig. The base, which is one for all things, is already there all the time, uninterupted is called
the primordial awareness or yerig.
These three kinds of Rigpa are explainded here in the teaching of Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyü and I find them very
important because when we usually talk of Rigpa we do not distinguish. In a sense we always talk of Rigpa as being pure,
perfect and then what happens is that we constantly find ourselves ignorant. We are just confused all the time. It is important
to understand why we are confused when Rigpa is perfect. Our own Rigpa is perfect and at the same time we are confused.

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That is because our primordial awareness is spontaneously perfect from primordial time. And because of that awareness (ye
rig) we have the possibility to develop the consciousness-awareness (bsam rig). It is like if we shake milk, if there is not the
possibiliy to become butter we could shake endlessly it would never become butter. In the same way as we have that quality
of awareness (ye rig) we can develop our consciousness-awareness (bsam rig). That is important to understand.
In the same way the primordial awareness or yerig is always there and through our consciousness-awareness or
samrig which is sometimes distracted ond sometimes present we can arrive in that primordial presence. Whereas the whole
pervading awareness or khyabrig, which pervades all existence is always there. It is the nature of existence. This is called
awareness or Rigpa because everything has one fundamental quality or nature. For example a flower has this all-pervading
awareness or khyabrig but a flower has no consciousness-awareness (bsam rig) and therefore no primordial awareness (ye
rig). This allpervading awareness is not an awareness in our normal way of thinking and understanding awareness or
consciousness, therefore we use Rigpa and not consciousness. But when we talk of kunzhi as the base of everything and it
would not exist in some way in the flower then it would not be the base of everything. And it is not only the base of the
flower but of every existence. This quality is the absolute reality of all existence. It is not only the reality of us human
beings.
But then you might ask, if it is in everything why is there only for us human beings the possibility for realization?
Why can`t a flower realize the nature of mind? It is because the flower has no consciousness-awareness, only all-pervading
awareness. For example the sun shines in the sky and does reflect everywhere but not in a piece of coal. It reflects in the
crystal because a crystal has the potentiality and quality to reflect and the coal has no potential quality to reflect. That does
not mean the sun does not shine everywhere.
Another way of understanding is when we talk usually that everything you perceive outside is like a dream. You
should always remember these things which are already explained to you; otherwise it does not make any sense to explain it.
We can also say that this flower is like a dream It does not exist in the way as we are perceiving this flower. There is
something, but it could also be a stone. What we see there could be a flower but also a stone and if it is something what we
perceive we call it flower. Then if we go and analyze this flower on what we think or expect to be a flower and take out the
parts of the flower like the petals one by one, we do not find something concrete which is the real flower. What we think the
flower is we do not find anywhere if we search for it. This is a very conceptual way of looking at things and we don`t do that
type of analyzing things. It is important to understand that in Dzogchen it is not important at all to analyze, but sometimes as
we need to discuss we can also use this way of explaining. It is important to understand that if you really want to know what
the flower is and you analyze that flower part by part, you take out petal by petal and so on. You don`t find a part which is
the base of the flower. In each part of it we try to find the flower and we don`t find the flower at all. Then when you
understand that there doesn`t exist something concrete called flower, that is called the base. Still there is something called
the flower and that is allpervading awareness. It is important to discover this subtle existence. That is called clarity (gsal ba).
Normally we do not discover this subtle existence or all-pervading awareness but we see only our flower. Likewise in the
Sutra (mdo) it talks a lot about emptiness, Shunyata or tongpanyi (stong pa nyid). In the Sutra it is said to prove that
something does not exist is easy. It is easy to prove that there doesn`t exist something concrete like our flower, but to prove
or to show you that there is something that exists is very difficult!
Sometimes you might think it is not important to teach in this way and you think you want to have direct
introduction and direct experience. And it might be that you even have this direct understanding, but still you are in a
dualistic condition. Therefore it is important to clarify yourself and your understanding with such a teaching. As it is said in
Tibet: “When the throne of Ganden (dga´ ldan), which was one of the biggest monasteries, is empty even you could get onto
it if you really understand the teachings; if you have direct understanding.”

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That means you should work in a similar way to reach to such an understanding. You don`t have to doubt. Any kind
of doubt is a big obstacle. The doubt blocks the process of understanding. Doubt is connected with the mind.
It is not just like a knot in a thread, it is more than that. The doubt really blocks the development of the mind. And
explaining deeply is clarifying things, and developing the mind. This teaching on the three kinds of Rigpa is to clarify your
understanding of Rigpa. Even for me it is very important to have such an explanation and clarification, because our
condition is to live in doubt and understanding.
Usually to give you the seed or cause you get an initiation. It is important to receive an initiation like an long-life-
initiation. It does something special in terms of the transmission. That is the importance of the initiation. But in terms of
ripening and developing your understanding we never say that this initiation is responsible. It is a transmission or a blessing
but it never does clarify your practice like such a teaching. If you already got an initiation it is important to get
understanding and this you get and develop through teachings.
In the monastery one takes a lot of initiations and with that you have the transmission. But after that you also should
have the understanding of the practice you got in the initiation before.
Personally for me I prefered to get these kinds of explanations and clarifications, not always to get a lot of
initiations, because these teachings clarify something. Otherwise if one is just listening, and doing rituals, receive initiations
and blessings you get all these - but sometimes I question myself if having a long life for example is so important when you
dont`t understand properly.
Also in a child there is a consciousness-awareness or samrig but this consciousness-awareness is mainly based on
distraction or the previous cause of distraction. Even this awareness is much clearer than before taking rebirth. But when a
child takes birth it has already the limitations of a physical body for example. When we speak of the limitations of our mind
it is also the limitations of our body we talk of, because mind is always connected with a body. But in the child there is not
such a strong distraction of the consciousnes-awareness like in us because it does not yet have such strong walls and
conceptual knots. They have not yet been built up but still there exist already a lot of limitations which distract. And then
when you are teaching already to children and slowly when they grow up and get the introduction they will understand.
They already live in a dualistic world right from the beginning!
That is the main reason why they are born in this human realm. They were chosen to be born here because there was
distraction before. I don`t want to say that everybody is always distracted, but normally when there is distraction which can
always happen to us, we could be aware of it. But there is also the case that distraction happens and we are not aware at all.
There are a lot of subtle things, like the recollection of the physical elements to build up the body of a child. Our mind does
not understand the relation of these physical elements and their relation to mind itself. But this is already a limitation which
distracts at the beginning. If you would sit near the fire and you`d like to practise there because it is warm, it might not be so
ideal to do so. When you are distracted by falling asleep because of the warmth you can`t practise. So it would be better you
go out, up on a mountain top with fresh air. That means if you want to bring something fresh into your practice it is
important to relate also to your body and secondary physical things too.
Sometimes it is useful to have strong distractions. For us in some way it`s easier to develop the consciousness-
awareness in this distraction, because it is helpful to identify or separate the consciousness-awareness from distraction. If
there is not a very clear distraction happening you might be not able to seperate this distraction from the awareness. This is a
very important point to understand. When you go to sleep and also in dream and sleep practice, the first part right after
falling asleep is considered to have no clarity. And then, the second part is when you begin to dream. That means you are
distracted by your arising dreams form the state of unconsciousness and you notice that you are dreaming with your
consciousness-awareness! Before the dream arises it is like in the Bardo (bar do). In the Bardo it is the same thing.

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When a dream manifests the movement manifests. This is an example to make you understand how useful it is to be
distracted. And in the process of day and night there is anyway continuously distraction, awareness, distraction, awareness ...
alternating ! What is the origin of distraction? Is it important to know all the reasons for being distracted or just to let this
distraction occure?
Well, it is not so much that you know the reasons for distractions, because it could be anything. It will come with
reason and without. But if you are capable to overcome the distraction I don`t think that it is necessary to know the reason.
Even if you don`t see the reason but you see directly and catch it from the root then there is no distraction but only
awareness. If you are not capable to overcome this distraction then you have to see the causes. That means also that you are
going to do again another trip. If you continue with that distraction it does not necessarily help you. It could help you. In the
Sutra they try to find out the base of one thing, they analyze to find the cause and resolve the cause. But this is always the
same discussion, since we are in this dualistic condition it is good to find out the cause. If we are not in this dualistic mind
then it is of no use to find it out. It is not necessary at all. You have to have a clear understanding and experience in
Dzogchen.
When we talk of three types of Rigpa before you have to have an experience of Rigpa. You have to have a reference.
If there is something you can refer to it is not an experience you once had and then it is finished. The experience remains.
That is called direct explanation in Dzogchen which means it is not based on conceptual explanation of cause and effect as
in Sutra. It is an explanation directly into your experience. If it actually makes sense for you then it makes sense. If not, it
just remains an intellectual understanding. When you are trying to understand and have questions, then you have to ask with
the clarification of the practice. It is very important to know that when we are communicating we are communicating what
we practise. You are trying to communicate actually your problems in order to solve them. That means also the practise is in
yourself. If there is really a doubt, it is possible that we can solve it by clarifying with your experience. We can try it in this
way not just simply repeating things again and again.
It is correct to say in order to develop consciousness-awareness to reach primordial-awareness it is to develop our
clarity by using all the six sense consciousnesses? What we have is different perceptions and then there are five sense-
consciousnesses plus the mind consciousness, which is through the perceptions. We have the eye-sense organ and through
this moves our consciousness-awareness to the perception or object. That means we can develop our consciousness-
awareness through our eyes, through our ears, through all senses.
Usually people know about the practice of gazing into the sky (nam mkha’ ar gtad). Through this we can develop
our consciousness-awareness, through the eyes in this practice. In the same way when you listen to music, when you hear
the sound you are trying to integrate that sound with your consciousness-awareness. Or likewise you integrate with the
smell. All the senses are equal, the only thing is that there are more explanations for eyes. One of the reasons for that is that
the organ of the eye is connected with the space organ. In terms of branches the heart is connected with the space organ. So
there is this connection of the eyes with the heart as an unity with space. There maybe a closer experience of space with the
eyes than with the other sense organs but otherwise it`s equal.

Bönpo Dzogchen

The highest of the 9 Ways, Dzogpa chenpo khyabpar yang tsewai thegpa (rDzogs pa chen po khyad par yang rtse
ba'i theg pa) - "the Highest, Unsurpassable Path of Great Perfection" - contains teachings on Dzogchen.

This is the Path which leads to the full realization of Buddhahood (rdzogs sang rgyas pa).

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From the perspective of Dzogchen, none of the other paths arrive at this complete realization since their Views are
based on the principle of 2 Truths (bden pa gnyis) and all of them, including Tantra, use consciousness (shes pa) to attain
their realization.

Therefore, the other 8 Ways are all provisional (drang don) and lead to the realization of some aspects of the final
truth, but they are never able achieve it ultimately, as it is. Dzogchen, on the other hand, does not rest on the 2 Truths but
instead is based on a direct understanding of the Nature of Mind (sems nyid) beyond the use of any consciousness.

Here, the Nature of Mind is understood as being self-perfected (rang rdzogs) and aware of itself. This is what is
called Self-Awareness (rang rig) or simply Rigpa (rig pa).

The Nature of Mind is non-dual (gnyis med), inseparable (dbyer med), both the aspects of emptiness and clarity are
primordially present (ye gnas gsal stong dbyer med), and it is primordially liberated (ye grol).

This Nature of Mind pervades all phenomena, but is peculiar only to sentient beings, i.e. beings endowed with mind
or consciousness (sems can).

Inanimate objects do not have the Nature of Mind since they have neither mind nor consciousness. Neither is this
Nature of Mind one indivisible Nature common to all sentient beings similar to the primordial, universal consciousness such
as is found in Brahmanism or Hinduism where it is illustrated by the metaphor of a single moon reflected in many bowls of
water. One being's Nature of Mind is not another being's Nature of Mind, even though the Nature of Mind of every being is
endowed with the same qualities and characteristics: emptiness, clarity and non-duality.

THE BASE (GZHI), THE PATH (LAM) AND THE FRUIT (BRAS BU) OF DZOGCHEN

THE BASE:
This Primordial State (gnas lugs) or Primordial Base (ye gzhi) represents the Primordial State of Buddha (ye sangs
rgyas pa), is primordially present in all sentient beings (sems can), but remains unrecognized. In other words, sentient beings
are ignorant of this Primordial Base, and it is this ignorance (ma rig pa) which is the cause for Samsara or Khorwa ('khor
ba).
Dzogchen teachings recognize 3 aspects of the Primordial Вase:
- its Essence (ngo bo) which is Emptiness (stong pa) or Primordial Purity (ka dag)
- its Nature (rang bzhin) which is Self-Awareness (rang rig) or Clarity (gsal ba)
- its Energy (thugs rje, literally 'compassion'), which represents the primordial inseparability of Self-
Awareness and Clarity (ye gnas rig stong dbyer med) and has the quality of being uninterrupted and non-stop (ma
'gag pa).

These 3 aspects are also known as the 3 Bodies of the Buddha of the Base (gzhi'i sku gsum).
PATH:
By practising the method known as 'searching for the mind' (sems tshol) and other preliminary practices peculiar to
Dzogchen, such as Khorde Rushen ('khor 'das ru shan, 'separating Khorde/ Samsara and Nyangde/Nirvana') and Semdzin
(sems 'dzin, 'beholding the Nature of Mind'), both of which lead to an understanding of the difference between the mind
(sems) and the Nature of Mind (sems nyid), the student comes to understand the Base described above, which is common to
both Tantra and Dzogchen.
The Path of Dzogchen as such begins with a Direct Introduction (ngo sprod) to the Nature of Mind; this is given by
an authentic Dzogchen master.

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The Direct Introduction enables the student to gain a direct experience (nyams) of the true Natural State, and this is
the base for all subsequent practice.

The main practice consists of 2 inseparable aspects:

These 2 aspects of practice are linked to the 2 inseparable qualities of the Primordial State:
- Kadag (ka dag) or Primordial Purity which corresponds to emptiness (stong),
- Lhundrub (lhun grub), or Spontaneous Perfection, which corresponds to clarity (gsal ba).

Trekchö is continuous contemplation in the Natural State of the Mind (sems nyid) free from the influence of any
kind of mental activity or consciousness (rnam rtog, shes pa), free from any kind of modification (ma bcos pa), simply
leaving it as it is (cog bzhag).
As a result, the practitioner is able to remain in the state of contemplation 24 hours a day without being distracted.
This practice works with the aspect of Emptiness (stong pa).
Thögal practice works with the aspect of Clarity (gsal ba).
3 main methods are used here:
- dark retreat (mun mtshams)
- contemplation of the 'sky' (nam mkha') or the unification of the 3 spaces (stong ba gsum sbyor lag len)
- contemplation of sunlight (nyi 'od), Thögal itself.

Thögal practice works with the visions (snang ba) which arise from the Primordial State and develop in 4 or 5 stages
(snang ba bzhi, snang ba lnga). [1] The practice of Thögal enables the practitioner to gain an unequivocal realization that all
mental phenomena and external objects are none other than Empty Form (stong gzugs). [2]
FRUIT
Once the Dzogchen practitioner (rdzogs chеn pa) arrives at the final stage of Thögal, s/he realizes the 3 Bodies of
the Buddha of the Fruit ('bras bu'i sku gsum):
1. The mind (sems) is utterly liberated into the Nature of Mind (sems nyid) and Bönku (bon sku), the Body of
Absolute Reality, manifests;
2. Without going through the process of death, the physical body (lus) dissolves into the essence (snying po) of the 5
elements ('byung ba lnga) and the Rainbow Body of the Great Transfer ('ja lus 'pho ba chen po) manifests. This is the Body
of Perfection (rdzogs sku);
3. The capacity to emanate many manifestations on the physical plane in accordance with the needs of sentient
beings arises simultaneously. This is Trulku (sprul sku), the Body of Emanation. [3]
The realization of the 3 Bodies of the Fruit of Dzogchen is the full and final realization of the state of Buddhahood
(rdzogs sangs rgyas pa) according to Yungdrung Bön.
[1] The Oral Tradition (from the country of) Zhang Zhung, Zhang Zhung Nyengyud (Zhang zhung snyan rgyud),
describes five stages; other cycles of Bönpo Dzogchen describe 4.
[2] Unlike the Nyingma version of Dzogchen, Trekcho and Thögal are taught together in Bönpo Dzogchen, since
they represent 2 inseparable aspects of the Natural State. For example, the most ancient of Bönpo Dzogchen teachings, the

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Zhang Zhung Nyengyud includes the methods known as Trekchö and Thögal in other teaching cycles, but here, the terms
are not mentioned per se and the simultaneous practice of the two aspects is simply referred to as Clear Light ('od gsal).
[3] Gyaltsen, Shardza Tashi. Commentary by Lopon Tenzin Namdak, Heart Drops of Dharmakaya: Dzogchen
Practice of the Bön Tradition (Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 1993), pp. 77-83.