The Community is thus seen as a place for sharing and exchange for people who share the same path towards knowledge.

The various community centres are considered places for the practice of awareness where it is possible to collaborate with others in the perspective of a common spiritual enrichment.

The International Dzogchen Community, on the other hand, is made up of all the practitioners of Dzogchen around the world.

It has a non-bureaucratic organisation and is based on the development of systems of communication which respect the various autonomous local conditions. For Choegyal Namkhai Norbu the various Gars (literally meaning dwelling) make up one great mandala or a network that covers the various geographical areas of the world and to which practitioners can refer as places of study or practise and meditation.There are five Gars in various places around the world:

Merigar or the dwelling of the fire mountain, for Europe; Tsegyalgar for North America; Tashigar for South America, Namyalgar for Australia and Kunsangar for Russia.

The co-ordination of the various activities of the association is organised by the Gakyil, the basic unit of organisation. The Gakyil can be a reference point for a country or even for smaller groupings, which act as a reference point for smaller geographical areas. Each Gakyil is autonomous and there is no one Gakyil that rules over another.

There is also the opportunity for single practitioners to get together in work co-operatives in order to be able to help each other in a concrete fashion. Each co-operative is an autonomous entity though, and does not have to support the Community economically in any way.

Each Gakyil is made up of three sectors which correspond, according to an ancient Buddhist model, to the three kaya of the individual: body, voice and mind. The Gakyil thus symbolises microcosm, the individual, the macrocosm, or society as a whole.

Each sector is represented by three of the community members making nine members who form the Board.

The sector that represents the body has the colour of earth, yellow, and the members entrusted with this sector deal with the administrative and economical resources that maintain the community. The sector representing the voice, or energy, is red, the colour of fire and its representatives deal with the use of human resources and with work projects. The sector related to the mind is blue, the colour of space, and the organisation of activities related to study and meditation are entrusted to this group.

The nine members of the Gakyil are chosen from the members of the community and are elected for one year.