Doorways to Awareness

Rigpa, the pristine nature of mind, is a state of our consciousness that is more fundamental than any thoughts or emotions we are familiar with, even more fundamental than the unconscious aspects of our mind where all our habits live. Dzogchen teaches that rigpa is the primordial ground of mind because it is present in each of us all along. It exists prior to the development of the ego and all our mental conditioning. Whenever we are able to experience it, we are enlightened in that moment. 

On the other hand, it is not as if we become someone else. We are simply returning to the primordial ground of our own consciousness. This invites us to understand enlightenment not as becoming something sublime, but as returning to who we truly are—our original nature. 

Sometimes the notion of awakening or enlightenment needs to be understood in context, since the meaning can vary from tradition to tradition and from individual to individual. There is a saying that goes, 

If you meditate on Dzogchen in the morning, you will be enlightened in the morning. 
If you meditate on Dzogchen in the evening, you will be enlightened in the evening. 

This states that awakening, or enlightenment, can happen in an immediate fashion, which may sound implausible or illogical. According to Dzogchen, the logic behind that saying is that enlightenment is about reconnecting with the state of who we truly are; therefore, such spontaneous awakening is genuinely possible. 

In contrast, many other Buddhist tenets may teach that enlightenment is some kind of achievement, where the mind is transformed into a sublime state rather than returned to its original nature. In that case, enlightenment is the result of a long process, an effect of a cause. 

So the idea of enlightenment does not have any timeless, standard definition that everyone agrees on. This has been true even within Buddhist traditions throughout history. When we have too precise a definition of enlightenment, it tends to become dogmatic: we develop an “enlightenment scale” in our heads and try to squeeze all experiences into it. If the experience doesn’t fit, we say it’s not enlightenment, and if it fits, we say it is. This can lead to sectarianism, where we believe only people in our tradition can become enlightened, and we easily discard the profound experiences of people from different traditions. We think we have the correct scale, and no one else does. 

Not only that, this can become a personal obstacle because we may fail to value our own profound spiritual experiences. In our mind, they might not fit into some lofty, mental category of enlightenment. This is not by any means encouraging us to take enlightenment lightly or to easily claim to others that we have had an enlightenment experience. On the other hand, we often come across powerful and profound experiences that we don’t always categorize as some kind of spiritual experience, such as rigpa, awakening, or satori. But those experiences can be moments when we are in touch with transcendence and should be valued. 

From time to time, we step out of the pigeonhole of our regular state of consciousness to witness something greater than ourselves, where we feel we are part of something truly indescribable. The experience comes with a feeling of awe and being deeply moved. 

This doesn’t belong exclusively to the territory of religion. Even people who identify themselves as secular speak about tapping into such experiences, which they may sometimes call “spiritual.” These experiences can sometimes be triggered by being in nature, happen spontaneously, or arise even through suffering. They can have a positive impact on the rest of one’s life.

The Three Immovables

Even though there is a possibility that we can drop into rigpa in the most immediate and direct way without relying on techniques, Dzogchen offers a form that can be very conducive to dropping into this state. It is called the three immovables (in Tibetan, mi yo wa sum): immovable body, immovable senses, and immovable nature of mind. This is one of the more convenient meditation forms among all others. The analogies used for these three immovables are:

Immovable body is like Mount Meru;
Immovable senses are like stars reflected in a lake;
Immovable nature of mind is like a cloudless sky.

Immovable Body

The first immovable is the body. Immovable body means you sit in the meditation posture that we described in a previous chapter. You simply relax in that posture without movement until the meditation session ends. If you are moving around, it can change and interrupt the auspicious posture designed to create an energetic vessel in your being that allows you to drop into awareness. The power of this posture is supported by Tantric Buddhist science. A famous saying goes like this:

If the body is straight, then the channels are straight.
If the channels are straight, then the prana is straight.
If the prana is straight, then the mind is flexible.

Sometimes Tantric Buddhism uses the analogy that the body is like a city, the channels are like the roads, the prana (vital force) is like a horse, and the mind is the rider. This shows that these psychobiological elements have a symbiotic relationship with each other, such that one element can influence the others. 

We also see this in daily life when we are more aware of our body and mind. If we sit in a certain posture, it changes our mood and even our experience of ourselves. Other people around you also feel the power of your presence. 

The meditation posture is a well-proven, perfect psychobiological environment where we can easily drop into rigpa. Therefore, relaxing in it for a certain period without wavering will help us experience rigpa and remain in that state effortlessly. 

The analogy of Mount Meru, considered the queen of all mountains, represents dignity, stillness, and a sense of being unshakable. In the collective imagination, mountains generally represent these qualities. Invoking this analogy can help people feel the energetic qualities of the posture, such as stillness and groundedness. 

Immovable Senses

The second immovable is immovable senses, often described as the stars and moon reflected in a lake. It indicates that the senses are not shut down but are completely loose and free, allowing everything to arise clearly through the doors of the senses. 

This allows you to feel you are abiding in a spacious, open awareness where all experiences and stimuli are welcome—sights, sounds, touch, taste, and smell. Without judging or labeling them, and without holding onto any of them, you let them arise and disappear on their own. 

Sometimes in the context of Dzogchen meditation, we are encouraged to open our eyes but not move them around too much. The purpose of this is to be in open, spacious awareness, not narrowing one’s concentration on a particular object or drawing the attention inward and blocking the senses. This sitting posture is, in fact, the opposite of sensory deprivation. However, moving your eyes around will lead to wavering from awareness. So even if your eyes are open, it is important to keep them still. 

In the modern world, many people meditate with their eyes closed. I feel you can meditate in rigpa with your eyes closed as long as you are not blocking your senses—you can still hear sounds and feel sensations. The point is not just about physically leaving the eyes open or not; it is about leaving the senses open. Then, as sensory stimuli arise, just don’t follow them. Let them arise freely, without trying to avoid them or engage with them. 

It is important not to get too hung up on these techniques. They are helpful tips that you can use. You can meditate perfectly without being too rigid about them. So . . . chill out! 

Immovable Nature of Mind 

The third immovable is immovable nature of mind. The analogy for this is a cloudless sky. The cloudless sky indicates that awareness is spacious, open, fully present, alert, and not bombarded with ordinary thoughts and emotions. 

When we sit in these postures with the senses completely open and don’t engage with our experiences while welcoming them, we can naturally drop into rigpa. This experience has two qualities: stability and clarity. The first, stability, means that the mind is no longer wandering. It is completely present with a sense of calmness and stillness. Clarity means that one’s awareness is more than just still; it is also wide open, experiencing the sensory phenomena. 

In this context, Dzogchen masters often invite us to put more emphasis on the clarity aspect rather than on calmness and stability. They state that spending too much time on stability and stillness would not lead to authentic awakening. Not only that, our meditation could fall into a cozy, unconscious state of mind, which could be regarded as mundane meditation. Attending to the clarity aspect can lead to a powerful spiritual awakening, including creativity, insight, and love. In other words, our consciousness will expand.

♦

From Releasing the Knot of the Mind © 2026 by Anam Thubten. Reprinted in arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boulder, CO. www.shambhala.com