Post by Owain on Jul 20, 2023 15:17:46 GMT
vvF RUITION MAHAMUDRA is the point at which we finally
discover the true nature of our mind. It is the perfection
of the path of simplicity, the point at which we have totally completed
the Mahamudra journey, which has taken us through all the stages
and experiences of our shamatha and vipashyana meditation. We have
finally uncovered all our obscurations and defilements through these
practices. When we finally realize the true nature of mind without any
barriers, when it becomes direct experience rather than conceptual
understanding, we immediately achieve buddhahood-in this very
lifetime. Beyond any doubt, it is possible for anyone following the path
of Mahamudra to achieve enlightenment in this very lifetime. In the
Kagyu lineage, the achievement of this stage is known as the state of
Vajradhara, or the state of nonmeditation.
It is in this state that we experience the nature of the three kayas
within our basic consciousness. As discussed previously, the three
kayas-the dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, and nirmanakaya-are the
three inseparable aspects of the enlightened nature of mind. At this
point, we are clear that this nature exists within our mind now. It is not
just a theory, a myth, or an abstract idea. It is truly present in this very
moment.
Fruition Mahamudra 1 3 s
TRANSCENDING REFERENCE POINTS
Although the three-kaya nature of mind is present within the
minds of all sentient beings right now, we fail to see it because it is
obscured, covered by ignorance and ignorant conceptualizations.
When we free ourselves from our samsaric bondage, we are freeing
ourselves from two aspects known as the two defilements, or the two
obscurations. These are the klesha defilements and the knowledge
defilements, which are obscurations to our liberation from samsara.
Klesha defilements are our disturbing or affiictive emotions-wild and
unattended emotions. Knowledge defilements are subtle ego-clingings-our subtle sense of there being a reference point. Regardless of
the kind of klesha activity in which we may be engaged, there is always
this basic sense of reference point. Whether the emotions are attended
or Unattended by mindfulness and awareness, there is a fundamental,
subtle feeling or experience of reference point. This sense of a reference point is the knowledge defilement, and this defilement is the basis
upon which the whole castle of klesha defilements is built.
If we simply cut through this fundamental reference point, which
can be compared to cutting through the pillars of an elevated house,
then the whole castle of klesha defilements will collapse automatically
and naturally. Once we are completely free from these two defilements, we have reached the final, resultant stage of enlightenment. The
process of transcending or cutting through these two defilements takes
place on the level of path Mahamudra.
THE WISDOM OF THE BUDDHA
The three kayas of the fruition stage are called the essence, the
nature, and the display of mind. All three refer to the mind itself: The
empty essence of our mind is the dharmakaya buddha. The lumirtous
nature of our mind is the sambhogakaya buddha. The unimpeded display of our mind is the nirmanakaya buddha. The three kayas are always
within our heart, always within our mind. When we reach back to the
136 THE MAHAMUDRA JOURNEY
original state of ground Mahamudra, completely and fully recognizing
it, this is what we call fruition.
Our basic state of mind possesses the two wisdoms of Buddha:
the wisdom of seeing things as they are, which refers to the dharmakaya wisdom, and the wisdom of seeing the extent of things, which
refers to the relative world. When we look at these two aspects, we can
see that this "wisdom" encompasses not only the complete understanding of duality, the subject-object relationship of the relative
world, but also the complete understanding of suchness, of tathata,
"thatness."Thus, wisdom applies to both ultimate and relative dimensions. For example, when we speak of wisdom in regard to the emotions, we are speaking of the "wisdom of seeing the extent of things"
because the emotions have so much character and so much color.
When we recognize the nature of the emotions, they become the ornaments of enlightenment.
Our mind possesses these two wisdom-energy aspects of buddhahood right from the beginning. Returning to that basic state is the
attainment of buddhahood, which is actually present in three states:
the essence, the nature, and the display.
The Dharmakaya
The dharmakaya is the empty essence of our mind; it is the wisdom of seeing suchness. That essence is the essence of egolessness, or
the selfless nature of our mind. The basic state of dharmakaya is the
nature of all phenomena, beyond all speech, thought, and expression.
This suchness is not created or conceptualized by anything; it is, rather,
the basic state, which we call dharmakaya buddhahood. Dharmakaya
may be translated as "body of truth" or "body of reality." It is the basic
ground of emptiness from which all phenomena arise.
The Sambhogakaya
Dharmakaya buddhahood is not simply blank, empty, or colorless. It has a tremendous energy and power of manifestation, which we
call clarity or luminosity. The luminous nature of mind is the sambho-
Fruition Mahamudra r 3 7
gakaya. When this energy manifests further, beyond the simple expression of clarity, it appears in the form of a sambhogakaya buddha, which
is beyond ordinary physical existence. The existence of the sambhogakaya buddha is not perceived by ordinary beings because the
sambhogakaya manifests in a totally different state from that of our
dualistic mind. This aspect has a permanent quality, which is a basic
sense of continuity or the uninterrupted manifestation of that clarity.
That unchanging, ever-present continuity of clarity manifests in the
lucid appearance of a physical buddha, who turns the wheel of the profound Mahayana Dharma for the most highly realized bodhisattvas in
Tushita Heaven. These bodhisattvas exist in the same state of clarity. In
fact, the whole sambhogakaya realm itself is a manifestation of that
clarity. Sambhogakaya literally means "body of enjoyment" and is so
called because it exists as the manifestation of the energy of the luminous .nature of mind.
The sambhogakaya buddha is described as having five permanent
qualities, which are called the five certainties: the certainty of the teacher
or the body; the certainty of the teachings; the certainty of the place; the
certainty of the retinue or disciples; and the certainty of the time.
THE CERTAINTY OF THE TEACHER
The certainty of the body or teacher is the sambhogakaya buddha,
which is the self-lumino'us energy of the dharmakaya buddhahood. That
self-luminous energy exists as an expression of the dharmakaya in a pure
energy form. The certainty of the teacher means that the one who
teaches in that place or at that level is always the sambhogakaya buddhaalways that energy of luminosity, that expression of the dharmakaya.
THE CERTAINTY OF THE TEACHINGS
The certainty of the teachings means that the sambhogakaya buddha teaches only the Mahayana Dharma. Buddha presents only the
teachings of the greater vehicle to the bodhisattvas on this level. There
is nothing else happening. They are going directly into the essence of
the Dharma.
138 THE MAHAMUDRA JOURNEY
THE CERTAINTY OF THE PLACE
The certainty of the place means that the teachings are always
given in Tushita Heaven. The samboghakaya buddha always manifests in
the pure realm called the Tushita buddha realm.
THE CERTAINTY OF THE RETINUE
The certainty of the retinue means that the students who can
communicate at the level of the sambhogakaya buddha are exclusively
bodhisattvas who are on the eighth, ninth, and tenth bodhisattva bhumis. Beings who are on the lower levels cannot communicate with
such buddhas. Therefore, the certainty of the disciple is established. All
of the retinue of disciples who appear as students of the sambhogakaya
buddha have the same level of realization and are ready to digest such
teachings.
THE CERTAINTY OF THE TIME
The certainty of the time means that the appearance of the
teacher and the presentation of the teachings are continuous. This
refers to the uninterrupted nature of appearance, the uninterrupted
nature of the teachings, and the uninterrupted nature of existence
altogether.
Most of us have a great deal of difficulty in imagining such a
world. Therefore, as an expression of skillful means, Shakyamuni
Buddha gave several examples, such as the pure realms, to explain the
state of sambhogakaya buddhahood to ordinary beings. We can see
examples of such images in the depiction of the pure palaces and the
pure forms of the sambhogakaya deities. The deities are adorned with
the most precious jewels and ornaments, and they are wearing the garments of emperors, who were the most revered beings of that time. All
the Indian or Tibetan paintings and statues show the sambhogakaya
buddhas with the full ornaments and jewels of the Indian emperors or
kings. These images provide us with something tangible, which we can
Fruition Mahamudra 1 3 9
easily imagine and easily contemplate. The Buddha gave us these particular examples because they show the richness of the sambhogakaya
realm: it is as magnificent and resplendent as that of emperors and
their royal palaces. However, these images are simply examples or symbolic forms; they are not literal. For example, the sambhogakaya realm
orTushita Heaven is not located somewhere in India. All the forms that
we see are symbolic representations that transmit the richness and the
profound and dignifying quality of the sambhogakaya buddha.
The Nirmanakaya
The nirmanakaya buddha is mind's unimpeded display of the
dharmakaya and sambhogakaya energies. It is the display of the energy
of emptiness and form, appearing in nirmanakaya form, such as the
form of the Shakyamuni Buddha. The nirmanakaya buddha appears or
manif~sts as a human being-as a very, very grounded human being.
For example, Shakyamuni Buddha appeared as a real human being who
walked on our earth. He ate the ordinary food that was offered to him
and wore the cotton clothes manufactured in Varanasi. Buddha was not
a supernatural being; he was a real human being like us. Compared to
the sambhogakaya buddha, the nirmanakaya buddha has a greater sense
of reaching out to various levels of beings. As a human being, he or she
can reach out not only to those with pure backgrounds and good
karmic records, but also to beings with really bad records and impure
karmic backgrounds. No matter who we are, we can approach this
buddha.
In the time of Shakyamuni Buddha there were great masters like
Shariputra, Maudgalyayana-putra, and Buddha's regent, Kashyapa. At
the same time, there was a certain individual named Devadatta, who
was totally confused. Due to his totally chaotic mind, he constantly
messed up everything with which he became involved. Nevertheless,
Devadatta met Shakyamuni Buddha, studied with him, and learned the
teachings of the Tripitaka. Eventually, Devadatta's knowledge of
Dharma became so vast that the Buddha said that the number of scriptures he knew would fill the saddlebags of five hundred elephants.
140 T H E M A H A M U D R A J 0 U R N E Y
Because the nirmanakaya buddha can reach out to many levels of
beings and manifest compassion in more diverse ways, he or she has a
greater role in benefiting sentient beings. Consequently, the nirmanakaya buddha is known as the kaya that has full power over the
activity of Buddha. Although the sambhogakaya has great power, it
does not extend to confused beings, such as us. Because the manifestation of the nirmanakaya is impermanent in nature, Shakyamuni Buddha
endured all of the human pains of birth, old age, sickness, and death
just as we do. There is also a greater sense of the impermanence of the
teachings given by the nirmanakaya buddhas.
THE THREE KAY AS IN EVERYDAY LIFE
The three kayas also manifest in our everyday experience of the
world. Emptiness is expressed or manifests as mind. Clarity is
expressed as speech. Unobstructed awareness manifests as body.
Therefore, when we experience body, speech, and mind, we can also
try to connect with these three aspects of the mind. For example, we
can observe the experience of emotions such as jealousy, anger, or passion. When we experience any of these emotions, we can look at the
nature of the emotion, which is the nature of mind itself. When we see
the spacious, open, and insubstantial quality of mind, we are seeing its
dharmakaya nature, which is the true body of enlightenment.
When we experience that space and the insubstantial nature of
mind, we see that it is not just empty and flat. We see that it is full of
energy, full of arisings, and full of a vibrant radiance. When we see this
luminous, radiant nature of mind that possesses all the qualities of richness and great joy, we are seeing its samboghakaya nature, the body of
enjoyment.
These two qualities of spaciousness and radiant clarity are not
separable. That inseparable nature manifests everywhere and all the
time. When passion arises, the inseparable nature is there. When
aggression, jealousy, or ego arises, the inseparable nature is there.
When any thought arises in our mind, whether it is a thought of a buddha or a thought of harming someone, the inseparable nature of spa-
Fruition Mahamudra 141
ciousness and radiant clarity is present. That all-pervasive, continually
manifesting quality is the nirmanakaya buddha. The enlightened quality of manifestation is present everywhere. Of course, this is not to say
that there are not different qualities associated with the various emotions that we experience. The experience of jealousy has a different
quality from the experience of anger or passion. Nevertheless, regardless of the form in which the nirmanakaya manifests, what is really
manifesting is the unity of openness or spaciousness and the radiant
clarity quality of buddhahood. When we see this unobstructed display
of mind, we are seeing the nirmanakaya buddha.
Usually these three basic states, components of genuine mind or
pure reality, are trapped and frozen in our ordinary existence as confused samsaric beings. However, through meditation on Mahamudra,
the true nature of mind can be realized. At that time, these three components manifest and appear as the three kayas of the Buddha. The
empty essence is dharmakaya. The radiant clarity is samboghakaya. The
unobstructed awareness is nirmanakaya. When we recognize the nature
of mind as the trikaya, this is called buddhahood, or enlightenment. It is
as simple or confusing as that, depending on our viewpoint.
In the Mahamudra practice lineage, fruition is simply this recognition of the nature of mind. There is nothing more. That is what we
call nirvana or freedom from samsara. There is nothing more to add.
However, the way in which you individually manifest as a buddha
depends upon particular aspirations-the aspirations you make now,
while you are on the path. Those aspirations, which include the expression of relative bodhichitta-compassion and love toward sentient
beings-with the desire to benefit beings in a particular way, will
determine how you will manifest as a buddha when you realize the
true nature of mind.
discover the true nature of our mind. It is the perfection
of the path of simplicity, the point at which we have totally completed
the Mahamudra journey, which has taken us through all the stages
and experiences of our shamatha and vipashyana meditation. We have
finally uncovered all our obscurations and defilements through these
practices. When we finally realize the true nature of mind without any
barriers, when it becomes direct experience rather than conceptual
understanding, we immediately achieve buddhahood-in this very
lifetime. Beyond any doubt, it is possible for anyone following the path
of Mahamudra to achieve enlightenment in this very lifetime. In the
Kagyu lineage, the achievement of this stage is known as the state of
Vajradhara, or the state of nonmeditation.
It is in this state that we experience the nature of the three kayas
within our basic consciousness. As discussed previously, the three
kayas-the dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, and nirmanakaya-are the
three inseparable aspects of the enlightened nature of mind. At this
point, we are clear that this nature exists within our mind now. It is not
just a theory, a myth, or an abstract idea. It is truly present in this very
moment.
Fruition Mahamudra 1 3 s
TRANSCENDING REFERENCE POINTS
Although the three-kaya nature of mind is present within the
minds of all sentient beings right now, we fail to see it because it is
obscured, covered by ignorance and ignorant conceptualizations.
When we free ourselves from our samsaric bondage, we are freeing
ourselves from two aspects known as the two defilements, or the two
obscurations. These are the klesha defilements and the knowledge
defilements, which are obscurations to our liberation from samsara.
Klesha defilements are our disturbing or affiictive emotions-wild and
unattended emotions. Knowledge defilements are subtle ego-clingings-our subtle sense of there being a reference point. Regardless of
the kind of klesha activity in which we may be engaged, there is always
this basic sense of reference point. Whether the emotions are attended
or Unattended by mindfulness and awareness, there is a fundamental,
subtle feeling or experience of reference point. This sense of a reference point is the knowledge defilement, and this defilement is the basis
upon which the whole castle of klesha defilements is built.
If we simply cut through this fundamental reference point, which
can be compared to cutting through the pillars of an elevated house,
then the whole castle of klesha defilements will collapse automatically
and naturally. Once we are completely free from these two defilements, we have reached the final, resultant stage of enlightenment. The
process of transcending or cutting through these two defilements takes
place on the level of path Mahamudra.
THE WISDOM OF THE BUDDHA
The three kayas of the fruition stage are called the essence, the
nature, and the display of mind. All three refer to the mind itself: The
empty essence of our mind is the dharmakaya buddha. The lumirtous
nature of our mind is the sambhogakaya buddha. The unimpeded display of our mind is the nirmanakaya buddha. The three kayas are always
within our heart, always within our mind. When we reach back to the
136 THE MAHAMUDRA JOURNEY
original state of ground Mahamudra, completely and fully recognizing
it, this is what we call fruition.
Our basic state of mind possesses the two wisdoms of Buddha:
the wisdom of seeing things as they are, which refers to the dharmakaya wisdom, and the wisdom of seeing the extent of things, which
refers to the relative world. When we look at these two aspects, we can
see that this "wisdom" encompasses not only the complete understanding of duality, the subject-object relationship of the relative
world, but also the complete understanding of suchness, of tathata,
"thatness."Thus, wisdom applies to both ultimate and relative dimensions. For example, when we speak of wisdom in regard to the emotions, we are speaking of the "wisdom of seeing the extent of things"
because the emotions have so much character and so much color.
When we recognize the nature of the emotions, they become the ornaments of enlightenment.
Our mind possesses these two wisdom-energy aspects of buddhahood right from the beginning. Returning to that basic state is the
attainment of buddhahood, which is actually present in three states:
the essence, the nature, and the display.
The Dharmakaya
The dharmakaya is the empty essence of our mind; it is the wisdom of seeing suchness. That essence is the essence of egolessness, or
the selfless nature of our mind. The basic state of dharmakaya is the
nature of all phenomena, beyond all speech, thought, and expression.
This suchness is not created or conceptualized by anything; it is, rather,
the basic state, which we call dharmakaya buddhahood. Dharmakaya
may be translated as "body of truth" or "body of reality." It is the basic
ground of emptiness from which all phenomena arise.
The Sambhogakaya
Dharmakaya buddhahood is not simply blank, empty, or colorless. It has a tremendous energy and power of manifestation, which we
call clarity or luminosity. The luminous nature of mind is the sambho-
Fruition Mahamudra r 3 7
gakaya. When this energy manifests further, beyond the simple expression of clarity, it appears in the form of a sambhogakaya buddha, which
is beyond ordinary physical existence. The existence of the sambhogakaya buddha is not perceived by ordinary beings because the
sambhogakaya manifests in a totally different state from that of our
dualistic mind. This aspect has a permanent quality, which is a basic
sense of continuity or the uninterrupted manifestation of that clarity.
That unchanging, ever-present continuity of clarity manifests in the
lucid appearance of a physical buddha, who turns the wheel of the profound Mahayana Dharma for the most highly realized bodhisattvas in
Tushita Heaven. These bodhisattvas exist in the same state of clarity. In
fact, the whole sambhogakaya realm itself is a manifestation of that
clarity. Sambhogakaya literally means "body of enjoyment" and is so
called because it exists as the manifestation of the energy of the luminous .nature of mind.
The sambhogakaya buddha is described as having five permanent
qualities, which are called the five certainties: the certainty of the teacher
or the body; the certainty of the teachings; the certainty of the place; the
certainty of the retinue or disciples; and the certainty of the time.
THE CERTAINTY OF THE TEACHER
The certainty of the body or teacher is the sambhogakaya buddha,
which is the self-lumino'us energy of the dharmakaya buddhahood. That
self-luminous energy exists as an expression of the dharmakaya in a pure
energy form. The certainty of the teacher means that the one who
teaches in that place or at that level is always the sambhogakaya buddhaalways that energy of luminosity, that expression of the dharmakaya.
THE CERTAINTY OF THE TEACHINGS
The certainty of the teachings means that the sambhogakaya buddha teaches only the Mahayana Dharma. Buddha presents only the
teachings of the greater vehicle to the bodhisattvas on this level. There
is nothing else happening. They are going directly into the essence of
the Dharma.
138 THE MAHAMUDRA JOURNEY
THE CERTAINTY OF THE PLACE
The certainty of the place means that the teachings are always
given in Tushita Heaven. The samboghakaya buddha always manifests in
the pure realm called the Tushita buddha realm.
THE CERTAINTY OF THE RETINUE
The certainty of the retinue means that the students who can
communicate at the level of the sambhogakaya buddha are exclusively
bodhisattvas who are on the eighth, ninth, and tenth bodhisattva bhumis. Beings who are on the lower levels cannot communicate with
such buddhas. Therefore, the certainty of the disciple is established. All
of the retinue of disciples who appear as students of the sambhogakaya
buddha have the same level of realization and are ready to digest such
teachings.
THE CERTAINTY OF THE TIME
The certainty of the time means that the appearance of the
teacher and the presentation of the teachings are continuous. This
refers to the uninterrupted nature of appearance, the uninterrupted
nature of the teachings, and the uninterrupted nature of existence
altogether.
Most of us have a great deal of difficulty in imagining such a
world. Therefore, as an expression of skillful means, Shakyamuni
Buddha gave several examples, such as the pure realms, to explain the
state of sambhogakaya buddhahood to ordinary beings. We can see
examples of such images in the depiction of the pure palaces and the
pure forms of the sambhogakaya deities. The deities are adorned with
the most precious jewels and ornaments, and they are wearing the garments of emperors, who were the most revered beings of that time. All
the Indian or Tibetan paintings and statues show the sambhogakaya
buddhas with the full ornaments and jewels of the Indian emperors or
kings. These images provide us with something tangible, which we can
Fruition Mahamudra 1 3 9
easily imagine and easily contemplate. The Buddha gave us these particular examples because they show the richness of the sambhogakaya
realm: it is as magnificent and resplendent as that of emperors and
their royal palaces. However, these images are simply examples or symbolic forms; they are not literal. For example, the sambhogakaya realm
orTushita Heaven is not located somewhere in India. All the forms that
we see are symbolic representations that transmit the richness and the
profound and dignifying quality of the sambhogakaya buddha.
The Nirmanakaya
The nirmanakaya buddha is mind's unimpeded display of the
dharmakaya and sambhogakaya energies. It is the display of the energy
of emptiness and form, appearing in nirmanakaya form, such as the
form of the Shakyamuni Buddha. The nirmanakaya buddha appears or
manif~sts as a human being-as a very, very grounded human being.
For example, Shakyamuni Buddha appeared as a real human being who
walked on our earth. He ate the ordinary food that was offered to him
and wore the cotton clothes manufactured in Varanasi. Buddha was not
a supernatural being; he was a real human being like us. Compared to
the sambhogakaya buddha, the nirmanakaya buddha has a greater sense
of reaching out to various levels of beings. As a human being, he or she
can reach out not only to those with pure backgrounds and good
karmic records, but also to beings with really bad records and impure
karmic backgrounds. No matter who we are, we can approach this
buddha.
In the time of Shakyamuni Buddha there were great masters like
Shariputra, Maudgalyayana-putra, and Buddha's regent, Kashyapa. At
the same time, there was a certain individual named Devadatta, who
was totally confused. Due to his totally chaotic mind, he constantly
messed up everything with which he became involved. Nevertheless,
Devadatta met Shakyamuni Buddha, studied with him, and learned the
teachings of the Tripitaka. Eventually, Devadatta's knowledge of
Dharma became so vast that the Buddha said that the number of scriptures he knew would fill the saddlebags of five hundred elephants.
140 T H E M A H A M U D R A J 0 U R N E Y
Because the nirmanakaya buddha can reach out to many levels of
beings and manifest compassion in more diverse ways, he or she has a
greater role in benefiting sentient beings. Consequently, the nirmanakaya buddha is known as the kaya that has full power over the
activity of Buddha. Although the sambhogakaya has great power, it
does not extend to confused beings, such as us. Because the manifestation of the nirmanakaya is impermanent in nature, Shakyamuni Buddha
endured all of the human pains of birth, old age, sickness, and death
just as we do. There is also a greater sense of the impermanence of the
teachings given by the nirmanakaya buddhas.
THE THREE KAY AS IN EVERYDAY LIFE
The three kayas also manifest in our everyday experience of the
world. Emptiness is expressed or manifests as mind. Clarity is
expressed as speech. Unobstructed awareness manifests as body.
Therefore, when we experience body, speech, and mind, we can also
try to connect with these three aspects of the mind. For example, we
can observe the experience of emotions such as jealousy, anger, or passion. When we experience any of these emotions, we can look at the
nature of the emotion, which is the nature of mind itself. When we see
the spacious, open, and insubstantial quality of mind, we are seeing its
dharmakaya nature, which is the true body of enlightenment.
When we experience that space and the insubstantial nature of
mind, we see that it is not just empty and flat. We see that it is full of
energy, full of arisings, and full of a vibrant radiance. When we see this
luminous, radiant nature of mind that possesses all the qualities of richness and great joy, we are seeing its samboghakaya nature, the body of
enjoyment.
These two qualities of spaciousness and radiant clarity are not
separable. That inseparable nature manifests everywhere and all the
time. When passion arises, the inseparable nature is there. When
aggression, jealousy, or ego arises, the inseparable nature is there.
When any thought arises in our mind, whether it is a thought of a buddha or a thought of harming someone, the inseparable nature of spa-
Fruition Mahamudra 141
ciousness and radiant clarity is present. That all-pervasive, continually
manifesting quality is the nirmanakaya buddha. The enlightened quality of manifestation is present everywhere. Of course, this is not to say
that there are not different qualities associated with the various emotions that we experience. The experience of jealousy has a different
quality from the experience of anger or passion. Nevertheless, regardless of the form in which the nirmanakaya manifests, what is really
manifesting is the unity of openness or spaciousness and the radiant
clarity quality of buddhahood. When we see this unobstructed display
of mind, we are seeing the nirmanakaya buddha.
Usually these three basic states, components of genuine mind or
pure reality, are trapped and frozen in our ordinary existence as confused samsaric beings. However, through meditation on Mahamudra,
the true nature of mind can be realized. At that time, these three components manifest and appear as the three kayas of the Buddha. The
empty essence is dharmakaya. The radiant clarity is samboghakaya. The
unobstructed awareness is nirmanakaya. When we recognize the nature
of mind as the trikaya, this is called buddhahood, or enlightenment. It is
as simple or confusing as that, depending on our viewpoint.
In the Mahamudra practice lineage, fruition is simply this recognition of the nature of mind. There is nothing more. That is what we
call nirvana or freedom from samsara. There is nothing more to add.
However, the way in which you individually manifest as a buddha
depends upon particular aspirations-the aspirations you make now,
while you are on the path. Those aspirations, which include the expression of relative bodhichitta-compassion and love toward sentient
beings-with the desire to benefit beings in a particular way, will
determine how you will manifest as a buddha when you realize the
true nature of mind.