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Trekchö
The Dzogchen Practice of Cutting Through
Part I: Introducing the Dzogchen View and the Nature of Mind we call Trekchö
The Dzogchen view is not about searching for something called “Dharma” outside ourselves. It is not about trying to find a special state somewhere in the future, nor is it simply a philosophical idea that we need to understand intellectually.
The essential point of Dzogchen is to recognize the nature of our own mind directly and then become familiar with that nature through practice. Every sentient being has the nature of mind, but we usually do not recognize it. We are continuously distracted by thoughts, emotions, memories, hopes, fears, and the different appearances that arise through the senses. Because of this constant movement of the mind, we fail to recognize the awareness that is present within and through all these experiences.
Dzogchen teaches us how to turn our attention toward the mind itself and recognize its true nature.
The Dzogchen view can be summarized through three inseparable qualities:
Emptiness of essence
Clarity or Cognizance of Nature
Unceasing Expression
These three are not three separate things.
They are three aspects of one nature.
1. Emptiness of Essence
When we look directly at the mind, we cannot find any solid, permanent, or independently existing entity that we can call “mind.”
Where is the mind?
Is it inside the body? Outside the body? In the brain? Is it a particular shape, color, or substance?
When we carefully investigate, we cannot find anything that we can point to and say, “This is the mind.”
Thoughts arise, remain for a short time, and disappear. Feelings arise and disappear. Memories appear and disappear. Even our sense of identity continually changes.
2Therefore, the essence of mind is empty.
But this emptiness should not be understood as mere nothingness. It does not mean that there is no experience, no awareness, and no appearance.
This is very important.
If the nature of mind were only empty in the sense of being nothing, there could be no experience and no awareness. Yet we clearly experience thoughts, sounds, sensations, emotions, and appearances.
Therefore, emptiness alone does not fully explain the nature of mind.
2. Clarity or Cognizance of Nature
Although the essence of mind is empty, the mind has the capacity to know, experience, and recognize.
This is called clarity, cognizance, or awareness.
For example, when you hear a sound, you know that you have heard it.
When a thought arises, you know that a thought has arisen. When happiness or sadness appears, you are aware of that experience.
This capacity to know is not something separate from emptiness.
The mind is empty in essence, yet it is naturally clear and aware.
We can use the example of a mirror.
A mirror has no particular appearance of its own, yet it can reflect whatever appears before it. Beautiful things can appear in it, ugly things can appear in it, and many different images can appear in it. The mirror does not need to reject one appearance and accept another.
Similarly, the nature of mind is empty, yet appearances and experiences can arise within awareness.
3. Unceasing Expression
Because the nature of mind is empty and clear, its expression is naturally unceasing.
Thoughts arise.
Sounds arise.
Sensations arise.
Emotions arise.
External appearances arise.
All of these are expressions of the mind.
We should not think that recognizing the nature of mind means stopping all appearances or making the mind completely blank.
That is not the Dzogchen view.
The important point is to recognize the nature of whatever arises.
When a thought arises, recognize the thought.
When a feeling arises, recognize the feeling.
When a sound arises, recognize the sound.
When an emotion arises, recognize the emotion.
The appearance itself is not necessarily the problem. The problem is that we fail to recognise its nature and become distracted by it.
Therefore, in Dzogchen, appearance and awareness are not regarded as two completely separate things.
Part II: The Difference Between Mind and Awareness
One of the most important things for a practitioner to understand is the difference between ordinary mind and awareness.
Ordinary mind is continuously moving.
One thought follows another:
“I like this.”
“I don't like that.”
“What will happen tomorrow?”
“What happened yesterday?”
“I need to do this.”
“I should not have done that.”
In this way, we continually follow thoughts and become involved in them.
Awareness itself, however, is not dependent on following thoughts.
For example, suppose a thought arises in your mind. If you simply follow that thought, another thought comes, then another, and another. Soon you have completely forgotten that you were meditating.
But if you recognize the thought as soon as it arises, there is a moment of awareness.
You do not need to fight with the thought.
You do not need to suppress it.
You do not need to chase it away.
You simply recognize it.
This recognition is extremely important.
The practice is not about creating a special awareness that was previously absent.
Rather, it is about recognizing the awareness that is already present.
Part III: How to Introduce the Nature of Mind
When introducing the nature of mind to students, we should not begin by giving them too many complicated philosophical explanations. First, we should help them look directly at their own experience.
Ask yourself:
“What is mind?”
Then do not immediately answer with an intellectual explanation.
Instead, look.
Where is the mind?
What does it look like?
Does it have a color?
Does it have a shape?
Does it have a beginning?
Does it have an end?
When you look for the mind itself, you cannot find a solid object.
But at the same time, you cannot say that there is no mind at all.
You are aware.
You can hear.
You can see.
You can think.
You can experience.
Therefore, there is both emptiness and clarity.
This is why direct experience is so important in Dzogchen.
We are not simply studying an idea about the mind.
We are being introduced to the mind itself.
Part IV: What to Do When Thoughts Arise
Many students think that meditation means stopping thoughts.
This is one of the first misunderstandings we should clarify.
Thoughts are not necessarily an obstacle.
If you try to force thoughts to stop, you may create even more tension.
Instead, when a thought arises, simply recognize it.
For example, if you suddenly think:
“I need to make a phone call.”
Do not follow the thought.
Do not fight with it.
Simply recognize:
“This is a thought.”
Then look directly at the thought.
Where is it?
What is its substance?
Where did it come from?
Where does it remain?
Where does it go?
If you look carefully, the thought cannot be found as something solid.
It arises, but its essence is empty.
Yet while it arises, it is experienced.
This is the union of emptiness and clarity.
When the thought is recognized without following it, it naturally releases itself.
There is no need to destroy it.
There is no need to push it away.
This is an important principle in Dzogchen practice.
Part V: Do Not Reject Appearances
Another important point is that we should not divide our experience into “good meditation” and “bad meditation” too quickly.
Sometimes the mind is peaceful.
Sometimes the mind is busy.
Sometimes there are many thoughts.
Sometimes there are strong emotions.
Sometimes there is happiness.
Sometimes there is sadness.
All of these experiences can become part of the path if we recognize their nature.
If the mind is peaceful, recognize the peacefulness.
If thoughts are moving quickly, recognize the movement of thoughts.
If anger arises, recognize anger.
If fear arises, recognize fear.
If attachment arises, recognize attachment.
The practice is not to say:
“I want this experience, but I don't want that experience.”
That would simply create another form of attachment and aversion.
Instead, the practitioner learns to recognize whatever arises without becoming trapped by it.
This is why the Dzogchen view is described as being beyond acceptance and rejection.
Part VI: Recognition Is More Important Than Creating a Special State
Sometimes students expect meditation to produce a particular experience.
They may think:
“I need to feel peaceful.”
“I need to have no thoughts.”
“I need to see something special.”
“I need to experience emptiness.”
But if we are always looking for a special experience, we may miss what is already present.
The nature of mind is not something that needs to be manufactured.
It is not something that we build through meditation.
It is something that we recognize.
For example, the sun may be hidden by clouds, but the sun itself has not disappeared.
In the same way, awareness may be obscured by thoughts and emotions, but awareness itself is not destroyed.
Practice is therefore not about creating awareness.
It is about removing confusion and becoming familiar with what is already present.
Part VII: Becoming Familiar with Recognition
Recognizing the nature of mind once is very important, but it is not enough.
We need to become familiar with that recognition.
At first, recognition may last only a short moment.
Then we become distracted.
That is completely normal.
The important point is not to become discouraged.
When you notice that you have been distracted, simply recognise again.
Recognition.
Distraction.
Recognition again.
In this way, we gradually become more familiar with awareness.
With practice, the gap between recognition and distraction can become shorter and shorter.
Eventually, awareness becomes more continuous and natural.
This is why Dzogchen practice is not merely about having one
extraordinary meditation experience.
It is about becoming familiar with the nature of mind until recognition becomes stable and natural.
Part VIII: The Example of Water
We can use water as an example.
When water is disturbed, waves appear.
If you want the water to become completely still, you might try to stop each wave individually.
But that is not necessary.
If you simply leave the water undisturbed, the waves naturally settle.
Similarly, when thoughts arise, we do not need to fight against every thought.
If we stop following thoughts and simply recognize their nature, they can naturally release themselves.
The important point is not to create another struggle.
The practitioner rests naturally and recognizes whatever arises.
Part IX: The Three Qualities Are Inseparable
Let us return to the three qualities:
Essence is empty.
Nature is clear.
Expression is unceasing.
These three should be understood together.
Because the essence is empty, the mind is not limited by any fixed form.
Because its nature is clear, experience and awareness are possible.
Because clarity is unceasing, thoughts and appearances continuously arise.
Therefore:
Emptiness does not prevent appearance.
Appearance does not contradict emptiness.
Awareness does not contradict emptiness.
Emptiness and awareness are inseparable.
This is a central point of the Dzogchen view.
Part X: The Importance of Direct Introduction
In Dzogchen, intellectual understanding alone is not enough.
A student can memories many teachings about emptiness, clarity, awareness, and the nature of mind, but that does not necessarily mean the student has recognized the nature of mind.
There is a difference between knowing about awareness and recognizing awareness itself.
For example, someone can explain what honey tastes like by reading many books about honey.
But reading about sweetness is not the same as tasting honey.
In the same way, studying the words of Dzogchen is valuable, but the essential point is direct recognition.
This is why the relationship between teacher and student and the direct introduction to the nature of mind are so important within the Dzogchen tradition.
Part XI: How Students Should Practice
Students should begin simply.
Sit comfortably.
Allow the body to relax.
Allow the breath to remain natural.
Do not deliberately create a special state.
Let the senses remain open.
Whatever appears, allow it to appear.
Then look directly at the mind.
If a thought arises, recognize it.
If no thought arises, recognize the present awareness.
Do not search for something far away.
Do not wait for something special to happen.
Simply recognize what is present now.
When distracted, recognize the distraction.
When you recognize it, do not judge yourself.
Simply return to recognition.
In this way, meditation becomes less artificial and more natural.
Part XII: The Main Point for Students
The most important thing I want students to understand is this:
You do not need to create the nature of mind. You need to recognize it.
The nature of mind has never been produced by meditation.
It has never been created by intellectual study.
It is not something that belongs only to great practitioners.
It is the fundamental nature of awareness itself.
The problem is not that we lack awareness.
The problem is that we do not recognize it.
Because we do not recognize it, we become involved in thoughts and emotions.
We follow appearances.
We develop attachment and aversion.
We create concepts and judgments.
We become caught in our own mental patterns.
Dzogchen provides a direct way to recognize what is already present.
Part XIII: Recognition and Liberation
When a thought arises and we fail to recognize its nature, we become involved in the thought.
The thought leads to another thought.
That thought leads to an emotion.
The emotion leads to an action.
The action creates further consequences.
In this way, we become trapped in habitual patterns.
But when the thought arises and we recognize its nature immediately, the thought does not have the same power to carry us away.
It can self-release.
This is why recognition is so important.
The thought itself is not necessarily the enemy.
The problem is the failure to recognize its nature.
Therefore, the practitioner learns to recognize thoughts, emotions, and appearances as they arise.
Part XIV: The Natural State
The natural state is not something artificial.
We do not need to manufacture it.
It is not a special meditation posture or a particular emotional experience.
It is the natural condition of awareness itself.
When we stop manipulating the mind and recognize its nature, there is a natural simplicity.
There is nothing to add.
There is nothing to remove.
There is nothing to reject.
There is nothing to grasp.
This does not mean that we become careless or unconscious.
Quite the opposite.
Awareness becomes more precise, clear, and present.
Part XV: Conclusion
To summaries, the Dzogchen view points directly to the nature of our own mind.
Its essence is empty.
Its nature is clear and cognisant.
Its expression is unceasing.
These three are inseparable.
The practice is not primarily about controlling the mind, suppressing thoughts, or creating a special meditation experience.
Instead, we learn to recognize the nature of whatever arises.
When thoughts arise, recognize them.
When emotions arise, recognize them.
When appearances arise, recognize them.
When the mind is peaceful, recognize that.
When the mind is disturbed, recognize that.
Whatever arises, the essential point is recognition.
At first, recognition may be brief.
That is enough.
Again and again, we return to recognition.
Through becoming familiar with this recognition, the practitioner gradually develops stability.
Therefore, Dzogchen practice can be expressed very simply:
Recognize.
Do not follow.
Do not reject.
Remain naturally.
The purpose of the teaching is not to give students another concept to hold onto.
The purpose is to help them recognize directly what has always been present: the empty, clear, and unceasing nature of their own awareness.
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