You do not earn enlightenment… It is discovered within!

“The three-kaya nature of mind is present within the mind of all sentient beings, right now, but we do not see this. Although it is present, we fail to see it because it is obscured by ignorance. Sentient being are simply drowning in an ocean of of ignorant conceptualizations, experiencing waves of concepts, thoughts, and ego-clinging. Samsara is like that.

The actual unborn, nonexistent state of samsara is dharmakaya. That basic space or state of freedom is called the dharmakaya Buddha. From this ground, the unceasing appearance of the relative world of samsara naturally arises. However, there is also a lucid and clear aspect of appearance, which is not something that arises just once and then disappears. There is an unceasing play of clarity, of lucidity, and this is what we call sambogakaya, or sambogakaya Buddhahood.

When we close our eyes and meditate, when we look at our mind, it is not simply blank. It is not merely a big black hole. When we look at the mind, it is full of energy— it is a field of energy at this point… There is a sense of complete or all-pervasive luminosity at this point. That sense of the basic vividness of luminosity is called the sambogakaya nature of our mind— ‘the great enjoyment body.’

The field of luminosity that we see when we look at our minds becomes brighter and brighter and more and more substantial. When we see that continuity of light manifesting in every aspect of reality— not only in the aspect of mind but also in the objects that we experience in everyday life— the nature of that clarity becomes so vivid and intense that we solidify it… That sensation seems so real, solid, and material. The unceasing manifestation of this unborn clarity, which pervades every level of reality, is called the nirmanakaya, or the nirmanakaya buddha— ‘the emanation body’ nature of mind.”  ~from Wild Awakening by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

These three dimenions of mind: Dharmakaya, Sambogakaya, and Nirmanakaya, are simply three aspects of one essence,Human-Nature. In other words, this awakened mind is our inheritance as human beings. Buddhist spirituality is all about discovering this awakened mind…

Beating within each and every one of us is the heart of enlightenment. Taking refuge in this heart is the essence of spirituality.

Chogyam Trunpga Rinpoche on discovering the enlightened mind within…