Within the Dzogchen vision, the nature of mind and the nature of reality are understood as a single, indivisible ground. This ground is described as primordially pure, meaning that in its essence it has never been stained by obscurations or limitations, much as clouds never alter the sky itself. It is empty of inherent, independent existence, yet this emptiness is not a blank nothingness; it is the open, insubstantial basis in which all experiences arise. At the same time, this ground is intrinsically luminous, endowed with a natural clarity and capacity for awareness. Thoughts, emotions, and perceptions are not foreign intrusions but expressions of this luminosity, comparable to reflections in a mirror that never affect the mirror’s basic clarity.

This ground is also characterized by spontaneous presence: all qualities and appearances arise naturally and effortlessly within it, without needing to be manufactured. From this perspective, reality is the dynamic display or energy of this empty, luminous awareness, an unobstructed manifestation of its potential. Subject and object, inner and outer, are recognized as conceptual constructions laid over a single field of awareness-appearance. When this field is directly recognized as rigpa—pristine, non-conceptual awareness—“world,” “self,” and “others” are seen as its luminous, empty play. In that recognition, all phenomena, including thoughts and emotions, are understood to be self-liberated upon arising, since they are nothing other than the display of the very ground that is already complete.