According to some schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of every sentient being, including every human being. Dzogchen, or 'Great Perfection' is the central teaching of the Nyingma school and is considered by them to be the highest and most definitive path to enlightenment.Keown, Damien. (2003). A Dictionary of Buddhism, p. 82. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-860560-9. The Madhyamaka teachings on emptiness are fundamental to and thoroughly compatible with Dzogchen.B. Alan Wallace, Genuine Happiness. John Wiley and Sons, 2005, page 203.

Our ultimate nature is said to be pure, all-encompassing, primordial awareness. This 'intrinsic awareness' has no form of its own and yet is capable of perceiving, experiencing, reflecting, or expressing all form. It does so without being affected by those forms in any ultimate, permanent way. The analogy given by Dzogchen masters is that one's nature is like a mirror which reflects with complete openness but is not affected by the reflections, or a crystal ball which takes on the colour of the material on which it is placed without itself being changed. Other evocative phrases used by masters describe it as an 'effulgence', an 'all-pervading fullness' or as 'space that is aware'. When an individual is able to maintain the rdzogs chen state continually, he or she no longer experiences dukkha, or feelings of discontent, tension and anxiety in everyday life. (Compare with nirvana). The polyvalent symbol and teaching tool of Dzogchen is the Gankyil.