Only personally observing and verifying the truth is enlightenment.

Knowing the nature of the tathāgatagarbha does not equal enlightenment—the Buddhist sutras all speak of this, so that would not be one's own awakening; what one awakens to oneself is certainly not found in the Buddhist sutras. Understanding the tranquil appearance (praśama) of the tathāgatagarbha is not enlightenment. To observe the tranquil appearance of the tathāgatagarbha, one must first find where the tathāgatagarbha is and how it operates, how it works in coordination with the five aggregates (pañca-skandha); only then can one observe the tranquility of the tathāgatagarbha in the midst of its functioning. Content understood based on sutra texts or on the dharma teachings explained by others is merely intellectual understanding—anyone who studies the dharma can understand it, and there is nothing remarkable about that. What is most precious is the truth that one has personally observed and verified; its verbal expression can be unique and one of a kind, very concrete, not vague and general talk.