Ground (Dzogchen)

It is atemporal and unchanging and yet it is "noetically potent", giving rise to mind (སེམས་ sems,), consciousness (ཤེས་པ་ shes pa), delusion (མ་རིག་པ་ marigpa) and knowledge (རིག་པ་་rigpa).

"[10] According to Smith, describing the basis as “great original purity” (ཀ་དག་ཆེན་པོ་ ka dag chen po) is the only description which is held to be flawless according to various Dzogchen Tantras.

[12] Tibetan authors like Longchenpa and Jigme Lingpa specifically linked the Dzogchen view of the basis with Buddha-nature or sugatagarbha (especially as it is found in the Ratnagotravibhāga).

[13] In the Great Commentary of Vimalamitra (8th century), the basis is defined as "one’s unfabricated mind" (rang sems ma bcos pa).

Because it has no intrinsic nature, and from the a relative perspective the experiences of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa seem to arise from it, it is referred to as the ground: [D]ue to supporting all phenomena of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, it is the abiding reality called "the ultimate universal ground"; it is unconditioned and abides as the great primordial purity.

"[18] According to Achard, Dzogchen tantras define the basis as "Great Primordial Purity" (ka dag chen po).

The Tantra of the Beautiful Auspiciousness (bKra shis mdzes ldan gyi rgyud) defines this as "the state abiding before authentic Buddhas arose and before impure sentient beings appeared.

The three aspects of the basis are:[21][22][23][24] Namkhai Norbu warns that "all examples used to explain the nature of reality can only ever be partially successful in describing it because it is, in itself, beyond words and concepts.

"[36] The text, An Aspirational prayer for the Ground, Path and Result defines the three aspects of the basis thus: Because its essence is empty, it is free from the limit of eternalism.