UC Berkeley

This dissertation investigates the historical and philosophical formation of the Dzogchen Ground/ground (gzhi) in the Heart Essence (snying thig) tradition of Tibetan Buddhism from the ninth through the fourteenth centuries. The Dzogchen Ground/ground is inspired by Yogācāra and tantric ideas of ālayavijñāna, Buddha-nature, and the universal ground of awakened mind, while synthesizing Tibetan doctrinal innovations. Through constant reinterpretation, the Ground/ground comes to signify a distinctive nondual reality–a basis for both delusion and liberation, as well as the true nature of reality.The study begins with an examination of Dunhuang Yogācāra manuscripts, notably Pelliot tibétain 654 and IOL Tib J 708, which preserve early Tibetan scholastic engagements with the theory of ālayavijñāna and demonstrate the integration of universal ground consciousness discourse into Tibet. It then analyzes the writings of Nupchen Sangye Yeshe, whose works reinterpret the universal ground within a tantric and contemplative framework that serves as the foundation for later Dzogchen formulations. Moreover, the dissertation examines the Seventeen Tantras of the Dzogchen Heart Essence tradition, where the Ground/ground is presented as the primordial basis of both saṃsāra and nirvāṇa through the triadic structure of essence, nature, and compassion. Subsequent chapters investigate the systematic presentation of this doctrine in the writings of Nyima Bum and Longchenpa. Nyima Bum establishes the Ground/ground as a narrative device for the occurrence of both confusion and liberation. Longchenpa differentiates between the primordial ground (ye gzhi) and abiding reality (gnas lugs), resolving tensions in earlier Dzogchen cosmology by clarifying that liberation consists not in returning to an origin but in recognizing the ever-present nature of reality.By situating the Dzogchen Ground/ground within the broader history of Tibetan Buddhism, this dissertation demonstrates how the concept emerges through centuries of transformation across multiple textual and intellectual traditions. In doing so, it shows how Tibetan Buddhist authors adapt Yogācāra and tantric ideas into a distinctive Dzogchen discourse that would become foundational for later Heart Essence philosophy.