The sublime view of Dzogpa Chenpo (Dzogchen – the Great Perfection), the ultimate vehicle, is that everything is pure and perfect from the outset. This is the absolute truth, the supreme outlook or view of Buddhas, which implies that there is nothing that need be done or accomplished. Based on such recognition of how things actually are -

The meditation of Dzogchen is nonmeditation, resting in the evenness of being, rather than doing any particular thing, beyond hope and fear, adopting and rejecting.

The action or behavior of Dzogchen ensues from such transcendence, and is totally spontaneous, aimless, and appropriate to whatever conditions arise.

The fruition of Dzogchen is the innate Great Perfection itself, inseparable from the very starting point of this swift and efficacious path: rigpa [innate awareness] itself, one’s own true nature.

The famous enlightened vagabond, the nineteenth century Dzogchen master Patrul Rinpoche, sang, "Beyond both action and inaction, the supreme Dharma is accomplished. So simply preserve the natural state and rest your weary mind." His compassionate, humble lifestyle [he never slept inside, even in winter in Tibet] and profound writings are still widely studied today, inspiring practitioners of all the sects and lineages of Tibet.

[JB note: Lest we misunderstand the meaning of "beyond both action and inaction," Patrul Rinpoche once laid down "across a narrow mountain pass to thwart warring parties of horsemen from continuing to carry on a clan feud by raiding the adjacent valley." (Lama Surya Das in "The Force of Nonviolence," Tikkun, Vol 17, No. 5)]

Padampa Sangye said, "Everything is found within the natural state, so do not seek elsewhere." Buddhahood is the wisdom within us all, it is not elsewhere. It is actually our fundamental nature, the primordial state, our inherent freedom and unfabricated beingness. That is why it is called the natural state, innate buddha-nature, and said to be possessed by all beings. …It belongs to each and every one of us.

…Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche said, "The enlightened essence (buddha-nature) is present within the heart-mind of every sentient being. Dzogchen directly introduces and reveals how this actually is, unbarring the natural state. The pith-instructions show how it can be nakedly recognized within one’s own experience. …This is the effect of nyongtri, instruction through personal experience."

…the nature of mind is luminous. It is perfectly empty, open, and aware, unfettered by conditions or conditioning. The mind, or dualistic consciousness, is a mere impermanent concatenation of causes and conditions, totally bound up in [habitual patterns and projections]. The difference between mind and its nature – the difference between awareness or mind-essence, and conceptual thinking or namtok – is like the difference between the sky or space itself, and the ephemeral weather which occurs within it ….

…the fundamental nature of mind is sheer lucency, free and unfettered by concepts such as subject and object; a profound luminosity free from partiality and fixation, a free-flowing compassionate expression of indefinable, limitless emptiness, unobscured by thinking. Thought is bondage; the immeasurable openness of empty awareness is freedom. Compassion for those bound within their own illusory constructs, mind-forged manacles, and self-imposed limitations, spontaneously, unobstructedly, and inexhaustibly springs forth.

Therefore … crush the eggshell of the mind and unfold your wings in the open sky.* Destroy the hut of duality and inhabit the expansive mansion of rigpa [innate awareness]. There are no other enemies or obstacles to overcome and vanquish. Ignorance – dualistic thinking – is the great demon obstructing your path. Slay it right now and be free.

* The image refers to the Garuda, the mythical "divine eagle that is said to fly as soon as it breaks free of its egg [and is capable of traversing the entire universe, unimpeded]." (Keith Dowman, "The Flight of the Garuda," Wisdom Publications)