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"The true nature of the mind is sometimes called Mahamudra and sometimes Dzogchen. Mahasiddhas have explained it in a way that is easier to understand: the nature of mind is the natural or ordinary mind, which is completely uncontrived and always has been. This ordinary mind is very close, always present, and empty by nature, but also has luminosity. So the buddhas, by seeing that natural state of the mind, have realized the true nature. Primordially, the true nature of mind is empty; it has never arisen and it never ceases, and so it is birthless. But it isn't just a material voidness. It has the quality of luminosity, so the mind is the union of luminosity and emptiness. By hearing and contemplating the teachings and through inference and reasoning, we can understand the presence of this true nature of mind. Or, through the practice of meditation, we can understand the true nature of mind."

Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
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