Sems nyid

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Key Term	nature of mind
In Tibetan Script	སེམས་ཉིད་
Wylie Tibetan Transliteration	sems nyid
Devanagari Sanskrit Script	चित्तत्व
Romanized Sanskrit	cittatva
Tibetan Phonetic Rendering	semnyi
Dan Martin's English Term	mind proper
Ives Waldo's English Term	mind itself
Term Type	Noun
Source Language	Tibetan
Basic Meaning	A Dzogchen term used to denote the true nature state of mind as it is. Often used in this tradition as synonym for buddha-nature.
Has the Sense of	The essence of mind.
Definitions
Rangjung Yeshe's English Term	The nature of one's mind which is taught to be identical with the essence of all enlightened beings, the sugata garbha. It should be distinguished from 'mind' (sems) which refers to ordinary discursive thinking based on ignorance of the nature of thought
Tshig mdzod Chen mo	1) sems kho na/ ... 2) sems kyi chos nyid/

Commonly found in Dzogchen and Mahāmudrā literature, this term denotes the true, natural state of mind as it is. Often used in these traditions as a synonym for buddha-nature.

Literally "unknowing," it refers to a lack of knowledge or misunderstanding of the nature of reality. As such, it is considered to be the root cause of suffering and the basis for the arising of all other negative mental factors.