Why Pointing-Out Instructions in Dzogchen Aren’t Enough

One of the most sought out Dzogchen teachings and also the most elusive is the pointing-out instruction, the direct introduction to rigpa, or intrinsic awareness.

When we attend Dzogchen teachings we expect something different. We expect to have some type of experience, some awakening. But after the teachings, we aren't really sure we got it. You heard it, but did you recognize what was being pointed out?

The biggest obstacle to 'getting it' is that we are deeply conditioned by words and language. Words point to things in the world. Matthew has five gold Buddhas. Each word maps nicely onto an object: Matthew is a person, Buddhas are statues, which are gold in color and, yes, there are five of them.

That's how we think about the meaning of words: point, label, define.

But rigpa doesn’t live in the world of form.

You can’t point to it like a Buddha. You can’t even treat it like “gold.” Imagine holding up a statue in front of a newborn and saying, “That’s gold.” The baby has no way of knowing if “gold” means the color, the statue itself, the shine it makes, or all sacred objects. To catch the meaning, they need contrasts, corrections, a whole grammar of use within a culture that agrees what gold is. “Gold” isn’t obvious. It’s learned.

Even more so with rigpa.

First, there’s nothing outside to point to. The teacher isn’t showing you an object in the world. They’re pointing out your own awareness in the immediacy of your experience.

Second, rigpa itself is not a thing. It’s empty clarity, space and awareness inseparable, without limit or boundary. If you go looking for it like a subtle object or mental state you’ll never find it.

Third, you need context. You need to know how to distinguish between mind and its nature. You need some familiarity with the abiding stillness of mind, the movement of clarity, and the awareness that knows both. You need to understand the union of appearance and emptiness, awareness and emptiness. Without that groundwork, the pointing-out lands as just another idea. You go hunting for a state, a feeling, an idea. You miss what’s being pointed out directly in your own experience.

This is why so many practitioners walk away confused. We bring the word-meaning habit into Dzogchen. We treat the instructions like a definition, or we cling to the idea in our heads and call it realization.

But the pointing-out instructions don’t describe rigpa. They don’t hand you a concept. They're an arrow. We receive their blessings when you stop trying to find “it.”

The point is, pointing-out isn’t enough. Without preparation, without context, it fades into memory like another teaching. With the right conditions though, with familiarity and with practice, it becomes what it was always meant to be: the doorway into the natural great perfection.