The Dharma, as taught in Buddhist principles, is a path that leads human beings from an ordinary state to the awakened state, known as Buddha.
This process of transformation cannot be understood without a clear vision of the fundamentals of purification, which are structured into four essential aspects: the base of purification, the object of purification, the purifying agent, and the result of purification.
Drawing inspiration from these teachings, we can explore each of these aspects as a guide for the inner journey of liberation and enlightenment.
Our mind, in its essence, is pure and free from impurities. However, due to temporary conditioning and accumulated illusions over the course of existence, this purity remains obscured. Just as a white cloth stained by external dirt can be restored to its original state, our mind can also regain its purity because purity is its true nature.
If illusions and suffering were intrinsic to the mind, it would be impossible to eliminate them. However, since they are temporary and illusory states, they can be dissolved through correct understanding and spiritual practice.
What needs to be purified is not the mind itself but the illusory impurities that cover it, just as stains cover a white cloth. These impurities arise from the duality between subject and object, between "self" and "other," which generates emotional conflicts and perpetuates the cycle of suffering.
The mind, by perceiving reality in a fragmented way, creates the illusion of separation. This illusion sustains conflicting emotions such as attachment, anger, pride, and fear, which reinforce karma and the continuation of suffering. True purification consists of dissolving this illusory duality, recognizing that subject and object are expressions of a single reality.
To remove the impurities of the mind, a purifying agent is necessary, just as a stained cloth needs water and soap to be cleaned. This agent is the Dharma, the teaching that guides human beings on the path to awakening.
Through various Buddhist practices—such as meditation, taking refuge, mental pacification, and insightful vision—the Dharma acts as a purifier, gradually dissolving the conditioning and obscurations that prevent the realization of the ultimate truth. As practice deepens, even the subtlest veils of illusion are eliminated, leading to the final experience of enlightenment.
When the mind is completely freed from duality and illusory impurities, the fruit of the practice manifests: the realization of the true nature of the mind, which is not different from the three bodies of the Buddha—dharmakaya (absolute body), sambhogakaya (body of glory), and nirmanakaya (manifestation body).
These three bodies represent different expressions of enlightenment but share a single essence, just as the moon in the sky, its rays, and its reflection in the water are distinct manifestations of the same phenomenon. In the same way, the awakened mind manifests spontaneously to benefit beings, illuminating them like the sun that shines effortlessly.
The teaching on the purification of the mind reveals that enlightenment is not something to be acquired but rather something to be rediscovered within us. Our mind already possesses the purity and wisdom of the Buddha; we only need to remove the illusions that obscure this truth.
The Dharma, by guiding us through this process, teaches that there is no separation between us and the ultimate nature of reality. The spiritual journey is not an external search but a return to what we have always been: pure and limitless consciousness.
