PACIFIC WORLD - The Institute of Buddhist Studies

354Pacific Worlddoctrine, Dzogchen is founded on the concept of an unconditioned Good(Tib. gzhi) that constitutes the Real itself (in fact, the only “thing” that isReal). The concept of Ground (Tib. gzhi) in Dzogchen entails that the Real(and therefore, the Good) is unconditionally present, in the world and as aperson’s own being. This view not only contradicts the concepts that definethe Good in conditional terms, it also encourages a re-orientation ofawareness to the present moment that directly opposes the continuous dislocatingprocesses of ordinary consciousness. The Dzogchen understandingof the Good as unconditioned—in conjunction with contemplativeand meditative practices aimed at immediacy or goalessness—functionsto counter the dualizing grasping intrinsic to ordinary consciousness.View and practice function together to redirect awareness back toa state of non-dual immediacy in radical opposition to the dualisticstructure of ordinary cognition. 202Evaluative constructs are also undermined by attitudes and practicesemphasizing detachment. As discussed above, evaluative constructs arethe basis for the emergence of attachment and aversion, as well as thehighly charged emotional reactions that operate in the wake of attachment.Based on evaluative constructs, cognitive and psychological processesbecome oriented around an ongoing attempt to regulate experience inorder to satisfy positive images (representing safety, etc.), avoid negativeones (representing abandonment), and numb or distract consciousness inthe face of the inevitable dissonance between ideal images of the desirable(in relation to both self-image and environmental circumstances) andactual conditions. This entire process is inextricably associated with theconstruction of a self (the self-image is defined based on evaluative associations)and maintenance/protection of a self (evaluative conditions linkself-image to a semantic/affective context of safety or abandonment). Forthe Dzogchen practitioner, this conditional and self-referential way ofexperiencing life is undermined by simply believing in a “Ground,”understood as unconditional Goodness (in an evaluative sense). To thedegree this idea is internalized, it has radical repercussions on consciousnessbecause it conflicts with the evaluative conditions that define the selfand support attachment, aversion, and much of a person’s ego-generated,emotional life. In this context, deep and abiding belief in the Groundbecomes a transformative or mystical practice. On the other hand, to liveaccording to the conditions that ordinarily distinguish the desirable fromthe undesirable becomes a form of radical ignorance or alientation from theGround, regardless of a person’s intellectual convictions.Dzogchen addresses the problems of selfhood and attachment (themost immediate expressions of duality and alienation from the Ground) inother ways. Like all Buddhist traditions, Dzogchen insists on the self’s lackof inherent existence—a direct attack on this central manifestation of thecognitive system. In addition, meditative practices tend to involve some