The Single Sphere

The Single Sphere or “Thigle Nyag Chik” is a teaching taught in the Dzogchen Zhang Zhung Nyengyü. What does this Single Sphere mean? The “Thig” or drops, is the primordial wisdom of emptiness. The “le” or vastness, is the expanse of luminosity. “Nyag Chik” or unique one, means the inseparable union of emptiness and luminosity. 

• “Thig” refers to the ultimate nature Dharmakaya. According to Tibetan astrology there are all sorts of math and calculations and “Thig” in this general context means zero. 

• “Le” refers to the expanse of the mind.

• “Nyag Chik” refers to the inseparable union of emptiness and clarity.

According to the Dzogchen approach, we don’t build the single sphere through meditation. It is already there. You do not need to change or improve anything. You simply need to relax into the way it’s always been. “Thig” is the empty essence of the mind, and “Le” is the luminous nature of the mind. They are not two things joined together. They are like a fire and its heat. You cannot have one without the other. This is what is meant by single sphere. When we look at a thought as it arises, it vanishes into its own essence. What is left? Naked clear awareness that does not move. The stillness is emptiness. The awareness is clarity. Recognize that state when you meditate. 

Whether we feel calm or distracted it is still all the same movement of the “Thigle Nyag Chik.” So do not prefer stillness or movement. In Dzogchen, the one who is meditating and the meditation itself are both the play of this unique essential drop, “Thigle Nyag Chik.” That is why according to external phenomena everything is “Thigle Nyag Chik.” According to inner thoughts and emotions everything is also “Thigle Nyag Chik.” Through that experience and understanding, until now, we have lived a life as a child, ten year old, teenager and so forth – we have had countless experiences since our birth. We have experienced so many thoughts and emotions throughout our life. So many moments of sadness. So many moments of enjoyment. All of these are also the “Thigle Nyag Chik,” the magic display of our own mind. All of our experiences are the magical display of our own mind, and here in this moment they are in the palm of our hand. If we want to experience happiness over sadness, it only depends on our own understanding of the “Thigle Nyag Chik.”

In the sutra path, these are the knowledge and understandings of the experience of emotions. In the sutra it says "everything is impermanent," which means there is no continuity of any emotional state. Everything will change under the condition of cause and effect. Through our lives we will have many experiences with many names such as experiences of family, friendships, food, working, etc. We need to understand that any experience which arises from any emotion (which is the feeling and emotion) is the dynamic energy of our own mind. No matter the emotion or the experience, it is still the dynamic energy of our own mind which we are experiencing. “Thigle Nyag Chik” is the real state of Enlightenement. It is the real state of Dzogchen. It exists within us. If you search for it, it is very rare and difficult to find. It is as rare as finding gold. 

From the Dzogchen perspective, practitioners of the lower vehicles practice through abandoning negative emotions. When you abandon negative emotions, self-arising primordial wisdom will be lost. Why? Because negative emotions are abandoned, samsara is abandoned. Because samsara is abandoned there can be no liberation. If we thoroughly investigate this, we can come to see there is no calmness or peace for one who is constantly having to abandon negative emotions as they arise. For those practitioners, they will always have something new to abandon. If you try to abandon all negative emotions, then where is the primordial wisdom? The primordial wisdom is the real nature of all those negative emotions. When negative emotions are gone, how can we understand their real nature? You won’t, because you have abandoned all negative emotions. That is why “Thigle Nyag Chik” the unique essential sphere which means that everything is the display of the mind, needs to be realized. In this view all negative emotions are the display of the mind. When we become Enlightened all these negative emotions naturally transform into their pure qualities. That is the Enlightened Mind. There are no real positive emotions over here and negative emotions over there. There is only the single sphere. 

All our emotions, good or bad are the “Le,” the luminous state of the mind. And they all arise from the “Thig.” And they are not different, but one single sphere.

Prayer of Secret Refuge

I take refuge in the vast sky of being.

I take refuge in awareness, clear light.

I take refuge in the union of being and awareness.

From this union, may compassion spontaneously arise.

May all obstacles be cleared in service to others,

And in service to others, may I come home.

All the Outer and Inner Appearances are the Dynamic Energy and Reflection of the Nature of the Mind, the Single Sphere

From The 14th Nail of the Direct Introduction to the Single Sphere 

of The Twenty-One Nails from the Dzogchen Oral Transmission of Zhang Zhung

“Every appearance is the reflection of the Enlightened Body. 

Every sound is the reflection of Enlightened Speech. 

Every thought is the reflection of the Enlightened Mind. 

Every occurrence is the reflection of the Enlightened Qualities. 

Everything is complete in the Single Sphere.”

The way everything appears right now – all the different shapes, sizes, colors, positions, locations – including our own appearance are the reflection of the enlightened body of rigpa.

We hear sounds, good sounds and bad sounds. Who decides what sounds are good and bad? We are deluded and intoxicated by the ignorance. We are drinking this ignorance life over life thinking some sounds are good and some are bad.

But every sound, all sounds are the reflection of the enlightened speech of rigpa. If you hear some angry, unkind, and hateful speech and you get angry, it is because you do not recognize that sound as the reality of the enlightened speech of rigpa. Anger arises because you do not connect to the blessing of the sound, the reality of the sound because we are too intoxicated by ignorance. When we are intoxicated we don’t recognize what we hear. But through the practice we can come to recognize all sounds as the blessing of our individual Kuntuzangpo. The speech of rigpa or Kuntuzangpo is neither good or bad. Every sound is the reflection of the enlightened speech of rigpa.

Every thought is the reflection of the enlightened mind of rigpa. Who decides which thoughts are pure or impure? Thoughts are thoughts. Anger and jealousy we call bad. Love and compassion we call good. Why do we divide them up? Because of our delusion. Here in dzogchen, every thought both pure and impure is the reflection of the enlightened mind of rigpa.

Every occurrence is the reflection of the enlightened quality of rigpa. All occurrences of activities of the body, speech, and mind are the reflection of the enlightened quality of rigpa. That is why the activities of the body, speech, and mind are qualities of the enlightened mind. If you do not recognize this then we have good activities and bad activities. 

Every form is the enlightened body of rigpa.

Every sound is the enlightened speech of rigpa.

Every thought is the enlightened mind of rigpa.

Every occurring activity of body, speech, and mind is the enlightened quality of rigpa.

Therefore, all appearing forms, sounds, conceptual thoughts, and occurring activities initially although they arise from the natural state of mind, in between even though they abide, they abide in the natural state of mind, and at the end, although they liberate they liberate in the expanse of the natural state of mind. Therefore there is no phenomena or existence that does not abide as the natural state of mind – the nature of the enlightened mind. 

Everything arises as the reflection of the natural state of mind. We need to realize this. 

In tantric practice they say, every form is the body of the yidam; every sound is the mantra of the yidam; any arising in the mind are the reflections of the yidam. 

What is meant by yidam? The ultimate yidam is the natural state of mind.

If we practice connecting to the natural state of mind again and again, then all appearances will be recognized as the beautiful ornaments of the natural state. All are totally pure without any impurity or divisions – no gods or demons, no good or bad, no mine or yours, man or woman. 

This realization is possible if we take off our obscurations – our veil of ignorance. Then our mind will be naked, and reality will be fresh. 

Everything is complete in the single sphere. Sphere here translated literally to “zero,” so a “single zero.” What this means is that everything is complete in the zero sized primordial wisdom. It means that in the natural state of mind, the single sphere as all phenomena of cyclic existence and transcendence of suffering is complete, all phenomena of cyclic existence and transcendence of suffering abide in the same nature as the expanse of the enlightened mind. Aa phenomena abide in the same nature – the natural state of mind. If we realize the reality of phenomena, then we can connect with that same nature – the natural state of mind. Otherwise every phenomena will appear to have different qualities, different characteristics, different powers, different energies. That is the perspective through deluded mind. If we go through the perspective through the reality of phenomena, then we can connect to this one taste. Therefore this fourteenth nail, of direct introduction to the single sphere means that all phenomena of cyclic existence and transcendence of suffering abide as the same nature as the single sphere – oneness of the expanse of the natural state of mind. This is the direct introduction through the oneness, to realize there is no difference between samsara and nirvana.

Guided Meditation on the Single Sphere

Sit comfortably in the five-fold posture. Freshen yourself up. Relax the best you can. Bring your attention to your body. Feel the whole body. Be fully aware of the stillness in your body. If you lose connection to this stillness, simply return to it.

Now look back to the mind. Leave the mind naturally. We’re not creating or correcting with anything in the mind. Leave it as it is. Do not follow any memories and thoughts. Do not mix with your thought of aspiration or any wishful thinking. Simply notice thoughts as they arise, without judging them —whether they are pleasant or unpleasant.

Feel the emptiness of the mind. Feel the luminosity of the mind. Continuously feel, experience, and connect with that empty luminous state. 

[Five minutes of silent practice]

Every form is the enlightened body of rigpa. Every sound is the enlightened speech of rigpa. Every thought is the enlightened mind of rigpa. Every occurring activity of body, speech, and mind is the enlightened quality of rigpa. Recognize that all appearances, sounds, thoughts, and events are not obstacles but manifestations of enlightened qualities.

Rest in the spaciousness of mind, free from conceptual labeling.