Longchenpa (1308-1363), a renowned scholar and master of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, devoted his life and work to an in-depth exploration of the nature of mind through the concept of *rigpa*. This key term denotes *primordial awareness*, or the ultimate nature of the mind—an experience of pure, non-dual consciousness that transcends the divisions and dualities of ordinary existence. For Longchenpa, *rigpa* is not a mere perception or ordinary mental state but the essence of ultimate reality, a fundamental consciousness that is originally pure, unconditioned, and immutable. This purity is often likened to a clear, boundless sky, with thoughts and emotions compared to passing clouds that appear and disappear without affecting the vastness of the awareness itself.

In his many writings, Longchenpa describes *rigpa* as a state of spontaneous, natural clarity—a mode of awakened consciousness that is free from mental constructs and untouched by the attachments and identifications that generate suffering. He emphasizes that *rigpa* is not something to be achieved or created but something to be recognized and stabilized. In his view, the mind of each being is fundamentally *rigpa*, but this pure nature is obscured by conceptual thinking, conflicting emotions, and the illusion of a separate self. In other words, we are unaware of *rigpa* due to the hold of ignorance and the habitual tendency to identify the self with thoughts, emotions, and the body.

Longchenpa encourages practitioners to transcend these conceptual limitations through meditative practice, which he describes as a means of *recognizing* rather than producing this state of awakened awareness. For him, meditation is a return to this inner clarity, where the practitioner gradually learns to free themselves from the veils of ego and conditioning. In this perspective, non-duality means not only dissolving the separation between self and others but also erasing the boundary between subject and object, between observer and observed. In the state of *rigpa*, consciousness and the contents of consciousness are not seen as two distinct realities but as a fluid, inseparable unity.

Longchenpa also teaches that *rigpa* is inseparable from compassion and universal love, as in this non-dual vision, the suffering of others is perceived as one’s own suffering. What arises from the experience of *rigpa* is a natural, spontaneous compassion, which doesn’t come from intellectual calculation but from the recognition of the deep interconnectedness and unity of all life. This understanding leads to a state of complete awakening, where one realizes that the mind’s nature is inherently free, luminous, and inseparable from absolute reality. For Longchenpa, living in *rigpa* is an ongoing openness to a continuous experience of peace, joy, and compassion that does not depend on external circumstances but on direct recognition of the awakened nature of mind.

Ultimately, Longchenpa’s contribution to the Nyingma tradition lies in his accessible and poetic teachings on *rigpa*, where he insists that this primordial awareness is already present in each person. He provides precise instructions for cultivating *rigpa* in daily life, inviting practitioners to awaken to this non-dual reality and discover within themselves an unlimited source of wisdom and compassion. Through this process of awakening, each moment of life becomes an opportunity to deepen this understanding and to manifest the ultimate nature of mind in every interaction and action.