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　　“Phenomena”

　　“Phenomena” are explained to be

　　Samsara and nirvana appearing as a duality.

　　This is named “the ground of the latencies of ignorance.”

　　The movement of mental events, correct thoughts

　　And incorrect thoughts are the cause of that arising (of samsara and nirvana).

　　The conditions for their causes are taught to be the alaya (the universal ground).

　　The translation of the Sanskrit term dharma is “phenomena,” chos in Tibetan. Two aspects of phenomena are presented in this treatise and are dealt with together: samsara and nirvana. As long as living beings are in a state of illusion they do not recognize the true nature of their own minds and experience basic frustration of being a separate self, set apart from the world as other than the self, which is samsara. When free from what causes that basic frustration, then they experience the state of peace and bliss, which is nirvana. Although both samsara and nirvana abound, they have no reality. As long as there is the delusion of samsara, there seem to be two distinct states, samsara set apart from nirvana. The basis for experiencing separation is called the ground of the latencies of ignorance.

　　The sutras teach that everything is empty of inherent existence. In the Prajnaparamitasutra, for example, we read, There are no eyes, no nose, no tongue, (…). In the shastras we learn through logical reasoning why all phenomena are empty of an own existence. Great masters like Chandrakirti offered proof why nothing has an inherent existence; Nagarjuna and Shantarakshita presented further arguments why the sutras are true. By studying their books we gain conviction and certainty in the fact that all phenomena are devoid of inherent existence. These teachings show us that all things are empty, which is ultimate reality, and that things appear, which is relative reality. Emptiness does not mean that phenomena are a vacuum like space or non-existent when they do appear and exist.

　　All things have a pure and an impure aspect, depending upon the view. The pure aspect of living beings is the Buddha nature, which is the clear and lucid power of awareness that everyone has. It is not a blank state. Maitreyanatha tells us in The Uttaratantrashastra that the Buddha nature is the presence of clarity and omniscience. The Mahamudra instructions tell us that the Buddha nature is not beyond the realm of the mind that possesses awareness and conscientiousness. If one investigates where the mind is located – whether inside or outside the body – one will never find it. Why

　　 Because the mind as well as outer appearances have no reality. This does not mean to say that nothing happens or exists. Things exist just because the mind clearly perceives, understands, cognises, and knows.

　　When the mind is directed outwards, appearances can be recognized and known due to the clear aspect of the mind; one does experience appearances but fails to simultaneously recognize that the mind is empty. Mind”s essence is empty of an identity, its nature is clarity, and its aspect is unceasing. It is due to the force of focusing on the clear and unceasing nature of the mind that its empty essence isn”t seen. Ignoring the mind”s essence is what Rangjung Dorje referred to when he wrote about the ground of the latencies of ignorance. There is the ground of the latencies of ignorance, the ground amid which all delusory appearances arise.

　　In the Kagyu Tradition, the essence of the mind that is seen through practice is called “ordinary mind,” which means that nothing needs to be changed or manipulated to realize it; one merely looks at the mind”s true nature in order to see it. Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche called recognition of the true nature of the mind “t-g-s,” an abbreviation for the Tibet…

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