Essence of enlightenment

Essence of enlightenment (Tib. བྱང་ཆུབ་སྙིང་པོ་, changchub nyingpo, Wyl. byang chub snying po) —

Thupten Chökyi Drakpa says:

The ‘essence (or heart) of enlightenment’ can be explained in terms of location, in which case it refers to the sphere in which the dharmakaya is realized, to Akanishtha, which is the place of enlightenment for the sambhogakaya, or to the foot of the bodhi tree at Vajrasana (Tib. Dorje Den), which is the site of enlightenment for the supreme nirmanakaya. We take refuge until we go to, or arrive at, this ‘heart of awakening.’

In terms of realization, the ‘essence of enlightenment’ refers to unsurpassable perfect awakening, which is reached when all obscurations together with their habitual patterns have been abandoned, and the natural state of all things, reality itself, has been realized.