Beginner Mind, Dzogchen Mind

It’s being ‘ordinary’.

Don’t be confused about the word ‘Dzogchen’;
it’s a Tibetan word for Zen,
which is a Chinese word for our original essence,
which is pure consciousness,
which is just seeing.

The problem with using ordinary words such as ‘just seeing’ is that we think we just see, when we are actually doing much more than that, causing confusion and conflict. We may use exotic words to give ‘just seeing’ some authority while, in truth, it’s just seeing.

Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me … they can confuse, however, and therefore cause harm.

Dzogchen mind, Beginner mind is the same as Dr. Suzuki’s maxim, “Zen mind, Beginner’s mind”.

In the first instant of being aware (just seeing), the mind is pure, before we go into our clever old routine. I had a problem with the word ‘beginner’s’ as, if this only applied to beginners, what do we do when we are more ‘advanced’? I then realised that we are always only at the beginning 🙂 The beginning is now, in the spontaneity of experiencing every fresh moment without references.

Sometimes, spiritual teachings sound like mumbo jumbo, making us we believe that we don’t know or understand enough, and feel like we’re failures. Been there, felt that. 😀

The Kayas – Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya and Nirmankaya – are not separate things. They are the qualities of natural knowingness without obstruction = just seeing. Just seeing is pure, clear and unobstructed. This is a sequence: because it is pure, it is clear, and thus, it is unobstructed. That describes the three-in-one kayas (which is called the Rupakaya) and is like looking through a glass window without any stains on it.

Maybe the term ‘Kayas’ sounds way over our heads. Nothing of the sort! This word merely describes what we experience directly … now. It’s beginner mind, first instant mind, rather than the highfalutin mind.

It’s being ‘ordinary’.
Unfortunately, we want to be extraordinary.