In Tantric Grounds and Paths, VGL explains there are three main practices during the meditation break: Viewing everything as manifestations of emptiness, viewing everything as manifestations of our mind of great bliss, and viewing everything as manifestations of enlightened deities. I think we can say from the perspective of a practitioner on the path, we first train in seeing things as manifestations of deities until this becomes our daily experience, then we train in seeing them as manifestations of our mind of great bliss until that becomes our daily experience, then finally we train in seeing them as manifestations of emptiness. This is moving from gross to subtle to very subtle.

Normally we think of the nature truth body as the deepest level of the Dharmakaya and the wisdom truth body as like its surface, like waves on the surface of the ocean. I think this is common appearance from the perspective of a practitioner on the path.

From the uncommon perspective of a Buddha, I think we can say the wisdom truth body is found inside the emptiness of the nature truth body. When we think about the four profundities, we first need to realize ultimate truth before we can realize conventional truth, then we realize they are non-dual, though still nominally distinct. Then our understanding of emptiness is complete.

For a Buddha, they see inside the emptiness of all phenomena is their omniscient mind of great bliss, and inside that are countless emanations of enlightened deities. This is exactly how we experience the three bringings. Things are not becoming more gross as we move from truth body to enjoyment body to emanation body, rather we are seeing increasingly subtle levels. The most subtle of all is seeing appearance as inside emptiness. We see only emptiness, but it is directly appearing as completely purified all phenomena. This is what is meant by completing the practice of clear light. Instead of seeing appearance as a more gross conventional truth we directly see it as an ultimate truth inside emptiness.

In short, Buddhas see so deeply into emptiness they see appearance. For a Buddha, the gross is the nature Truth Body, the subtle is the wisdom truth body, and the very subtle is the emanation bodies. Hinayana Foe Destroyers absorb into emptiness, but it is only when we remove the obstructions to omniscience from that clear light emptiness that we attain the omniscient mind of a Buddha seeing directly all phenomena inside emptiness. In Sutra Mahamudra we say the mind is so clear, it knows. In Tantra Mahamudra, I think we can say our mind of great bliss is so empty, it appears and functions. Buddha see this directly.

Thoughts?