Within the Dzogchen vision, delusions, emotions, and karmic patterns are approached through direct recognition rather than gradual correction. The key point is that the deepest nature of mind, often termed rigpa or primordial awareness, is already pure, empty of inherent solidity, yet luminous and cognizant. Delusion is simply the failure to recognize this natural state and the consequent habit of taking thoughts and appearances as truly existent and separate. From this perspective, deluded thoughts are not treated as enemies to be fought, but as temporary displays within awareness itself. When their nature is recognized, they arise and dissolve on their own, without leaving a strong trace. This is what is meant by self-liberation: the appearance and its release occur in the same moment, within the same expanse of awareness.

Emotions are treated in a similar way. Rather than being rejected as inherently negative, they are understood as the dynamic energy of awareness appearing in a distorted or confused form. In practice, this means allowing emotions to arise fully without suppression, while refraining from being carried away by their stories. The practitioner rests in the clarity of awareness and looks directly at the emotion’s essence, which is found to be empty and insubstantial. When seen in this way, emotions naturally unravel and reveal a quality of clarity rather than disturbance. Over time, as recognition of rigpa stabilizes, emotions lose their compulsive force and no longer function as obstacles, even though they may still arise.

Karmic patterns are understood as habitual tendencies formed through repeated identification with thoughts, emotions, and actions under the influence of ignorance. These patterns, too, are seen as arising within the unchanging space of awareness, without ever staining its nature. As recognition of rigpa becomes more stable, the basis for accumulating new karma is undermined, because grasping at a solid self and solid experiences no longer dominates. Each time a karmic impulse arises and is simply recognized within awareness without being acted out or believed in, its momentum weakens and its seed is gradually exhausted. In this way, delusions, emotions, and karmic imprints are all addressed through the same principle: direct insight into their empty, luminous nature, allowing them to self-liberate rather than be laboriously dismantled.