The tradition in question understands the spiritual path as a radical transformation of consciousness culminating in complete awakening, or Buddhahood. This awakening is described as the realization of “mind-only” (vijñapti-mātra), in which the habitual sense of a solid subject confronting an external world is seen as a cognitive construction rather than an ultimate reality. Through this realization, the dualistic perception that underlies suffering is brought to an end, and what is revealed is suchness (tathatā) or the realm of reality (dharmadhātu), free from the distortions of grasping and aversion. Enlightenment here is not merely an abstract insight, but a fully embodied wisdom that naturally expresses itself as compassionate activity for the benefit of all beings.

The path is often described in terms of a profound “turning around at the base” (āśrayaparāvṛtti), a complete reorientation at the deepest level of mind. This involves the purification and transformation of the eight consciousnesses, especially the storehouse consciousness (ālayavijñāna), which holds the karmic seeds that give rise to the illusion of a separate self and external objects. As these seeds and defilements (kleśas) are exhausted, the storehouse consciousness is no longer a basis for deluded projections, but is transformed into wisdom-consciousness. In this way, the imagined duality of perceiver and perceived is seen through, the dependent flow of mental constructions is correctly understood, and the perfected nature—free from inherent self-nature and duality—is directly realized.

The culmination of this process is pure, non-dual cognition, a direct and non-conceptual insight into reality as it is. In such cognition, consciousness no longer operates under the sway of greed, hatred, and delusion, nor does it fabricate a split between inner and outer, self and world. What remains is a clear, unobstructed awareness of suchness, characterized by perfect wisdom (prajñā) and compassion (karuṇā). The ultimate goal, then, is the complete purification of consciousness and the realization of non-dual wisdom, in which the mind’s projective activity is understood and relinquished, and Buddhahood is attained.