The pointing-out instruction is an introduction to the nature of mind in the Tibetan Buddhist lineages of Mahāmudrā and Dzogchen. In these traditions, a lama gives the pointing-out instruction in such a way that the disciple successfully recognizes the nature of mind.
In the Mahāmudrā tradition, pointing-out instruction is also referred to as "pointing out the nature of mind", "pointing out transmission", or "introduction to the nature of mind". In the Dzogchen tradition, the pointing out instructions are often called the “introduction to awareness” or "sems khrid," pronounced "sem tri". Senior Shambhala Buddhist teacher Jeremy Hayward describes this as
In the Mahāmudrā tradition, the mind pointed out is called "ordinary mind" (tamel gyi shépa, Sanskrit: *prākṛita-jñana). As the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche explains,
In the Dzogchen tradition, knowledge of the basis pointed out is called rigpa (Sanskrit: *vidya).
Sometimes the pointing-out instruction is referred to as "the empowerment of vajra wisdom," "vajrayana transmission" or "esoteric transmission," although these terms can also be applied to formal abhiṣeka as well.
As scholar David Jackson describes, the particular Kagyu tradition of pointing-out instruction outside the tantras was popularized, if not originated, by Gampopa.
Jackson reports that, according to a number of Kagyu historians, Gampopa put particular emphasis on pointing out the nature of Mind. Jackson writes
There is evidence that this practice derived from (unacknowledged) Chan influence, a controversial issue in Tibet. As scholar Matthew Kapstein writes, the