In the Mahāmudrā tradition, the term ordinary means allowing the body, breath, and mind to remain just as they are—without any attempt to modify or control them. Ordinary mind refers to a state of mind that is free from conceptual elaboration and beyond verbal expression. Yet, this notion must be carefully understood, as Mahāmudrā distinguishes between different forms of so-called ordinary mind.
There is, for example, the ordinary mind entangled in deluded thoughts, and the ordinary mind that becomes attached to meditative experiences such as bliss, clarity, or a non-conceptuality. Both of these must be relinquished.
Beyond them lies another, deeper sense of ordinary mind—the innate luminosity that is the ground of all appearances. It is this ordinary mind that is the true basis of realization and the path to buddhahood. (Translated by T. Dorji)
What choying Rangdrol says about 'ordinary mind':
In the Mahāmudrā tradition, the term ordinary means allowing the body, breath, and mind to remain just as they are—without any attempt to modify or control them. Ordinary mind refers to a state of mind that is free from conceptual elaboration and beyond verbal expression. Yet, this notion must be carefully understood, as Mahāmudrā distinguishes between different forms of so-called ordinary mind.
There is, for example, the ordinary mind entangled in deluded thoughts, and the ordinary mind that becomes attached to meditative experiences such as bliss, clarity, or a non-conceptuality. Both of these must be relinquished.
Beyond them lies another, deeper sense of ordinary mind—the innate luminosity that is the ground of all appearances. It is this ordinary mind that is the true basis of realization and the path to buddhahood. (Translated by T. Dorji)