PACIFIC WORLD - The Institute of Buddhist Studies

The Gzhi as “Creator”Studstill: Cybernetic Approach to Dzogchen 343The relation of dharmakåya to sambhogakåya and nirmånakåya isoften presented as a process of emanation, corresponding with the generalunderstanding of Being as the primordial Source or Creator of all phenomenalappearances. The gzhi, metaphorically speaking, “gives birth.” 114 In ageneral sense, It emits a radiance that congeals into the phenomenaluniverse as its own “adornment,” displaying through this process suchqualities as intelligence, compassion, primeval spontaneity, creativity, andplayfulness. In the Kun byed rgyal po'i mdo, the universe is considered tobe “an outflow of the primordial ground,” 115 personified as the “All-Creating King.” As asked in the text, “Who else if not the Mind of PurePerfection (byang chub sems; bodhicitta 116 ) would create the entirety?” 117The ultimate source of creation is commonly referred to as the “youthfulvase(-like) body”: a symbol for Being’s essence as pure, unconditioned,and unmoving. It is called “vase-like” because “its outer covering … is not(yet) broken”—it has “not appear[ed] outwardly” 118 but is still “contained”within its own freedom from conditions or distinguishable characteristics.But as stated above, it is the nature of the Ground to “light up.” 119 AsGuenther explains, “the whole’s ec-static intensity … prevents it from everbecoming static and constantly seems to push it over the instability thresholdinto the world of actuality.” 120 Metaphorically, the “vase breaks” andmanifests as the “externalized glow” of Being’s qualities as “lights” and“rays.” 121 This ultimate sphere of Being’s activities in turn sets the stage fortwo possible evolutionary trajectories. The first trajectory—Being’s“emancipatory mode” (Tib. grol-lugs)—is initiated by the self-recognitionof all appearances as nothing other than the Ground itself. This,from a Dzogchen perspective, is nirvå√a or buddhahood, understood asa return to one’s Source. 122 The second—Being’s “errancy mode” (Tib.‘khrul-lugs)—is the failure to make this recognition, being the fundamentalignorance (Tib. ma-rig-pa) that initiates a process of “goingfarther astray” (Tib. ‘khrul-pa) from the authenticity of Being. 123 Thisdimming of Being’s pristine intelligence is poetically described in thelTa ba klong yangs as follows:The immovable moved slightly,The unquivering quivered slightly.Although there is no motion in the Basis,The motion comes out of the versatility of the Intellect [rig-pa].This versatility is called the Mind.It is also that of spontaneous compassion.Just like the wind of the breath of a small bird.Or the movement of the unborn cock.