by Dalai Lama
The experience of nirvāṇa is beyond our ordinary cognitive processes. To give us a rough idea of nirvāṇa, the Buddha sometimes presents analogies and synonyms. For example, the Buddha referred to nirvāṇa as the truth, the far shore, the subtle, the very difficult to see, the unaging, the stable, the undisintegrating, the unmanifest, the unproliferated, the peaceful, the deathless, the sublime, the auspicious, the secure, the destruction of craving, the wonderful, the amazing, the unailing, the unailing state, the unafflicted, dispassion, purity, freedom, nonattachment, the island, the shelter, the asylum, the refuge, the destination, and the path leading to the destination (SN 43:13–44).
The consciousness of an arhat realizing nirvāṇa is described (DN 11.85):
Where consciousness is signless, boundless, all-luminous,
that’s where earth, water, fire, and air find no footing.
There both long and short, small and great, fair and foul —
there name and form are wholly destroyed.
With the cessation of consciousness this is all destroyed.
This consciousness is one where worldly phenomena such as the four elements and concepts such as “long” and “short” find no footing: they do not become totally nonexistent, but they do not appear to this mind of meditative equipoise focused on nirvāṇa. The ordinary mind of name and form that perceives sense phenomena is cut off.
Some people understand the last line to indicate that at arhatship, consciousness is totally ceased. However, it can also mean that with the temporary cessation of this dualistic mind, all appearances of veiled phenomena cease in the face of (in the experience of) profound meditative equipoise.
There are similarities as well as differences in the description of nirvāṇa in the Pāli and Sanskrit traditions. In the Pāli tradition, nirvāṇa is the unconditioned, in contrast to saṃsāra, which is conditioned. Nirvāṇa is completely separate and doesn’t have anything to do with the saṃsāric world governed by dependent arising. Nirvāṇa, which is reality, is also distinct from selflessness, which is a characteristic of saṃsāric phenomena.
In the Sanskrit tradition, nirvāṇa is an emptiness, and emptiness is equivalent to selflessness and ultimate reality. Emptiness is also compatible with dependent arising, which includes dependent designation. Being empty and existing by mere designation are characteristics of both saṃsāra and nirvāṇa. In addition, because phenomena arise dependently, they are empty of inherent existence.
Nirvāṇa and Liberation
Although liberation and an arhat’s nirvāṇa often seem to be the same, in some contexts they may be somewhat different. In the Sanskrit tradition, liberation (vimukti, T. rnam par grol ba) may refer to liberation itself or to the path leading to liberation. Liberation itself is true cessation — nirvāṇa — and is unconditioned. The path to liberation is a conditioned phenomenon. It is spoken of in the context of five heaps — ethical conduct, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and liberating wisdom. Here liberation is in the nature of the aspiration for liberation, and liberating wisdom is in the nature of the wisdom that liberates. Both are elements of the liberating path that leads to cessation. Mokṣa (T. thar pa) is a true cessation that is the abandonment of afflictive obscurations. It is also translated as “liberation” and refers to nirvāṇa.
In the Pāli tradition, liberation (P. vimutti) and nirvāṇa differ in that nirvāṇa is what is realized in the experience of liberation. Nirvāṇa is unconditioned, whereas liberation is a conditioned event. In transcendental dependent origination, liberation has the proximate cause of dispassion and is the proximate cause of knowledge of the destruction of all pollutants. In contrast, nirvāṇa is “unborn, unconstructed, unmade, unconditioned.” It is ever-existent and does not arise through causes and conditions. Liberation is the release of the mind from the defilements, especially the three pollutants. To give an analogy: nirvāṇa is like a building and liberation is the act of entering it; or nirvāṇa is like the area beyond the finish line and liberation is the act of crossing that line.75
Bodhi
Bodhi is generally translated as “awakening” or “enlightenment,” the final goal of our spiritual practice. A buddha’s awakening is a state in which all defilements of the mind have been abandoned and all excellent qualities and realizations have been completed. The basis for attaining awakening is the essentially pure nature of mind — the natural purity of the mind — which is present in all of us. When the pure nature of the mind is obscured by afflictions, we are not awakened; when afflictions, their seeds, and their latencies have been completely purified, we are awakened. Thus awakening has to do with the nature of our minds.
In the Perfection of Wisdom sūtras, the essential pure nature of the mind is called natural nirvāṇa. These sūtras also say, “The mind is devoid of mind because the nature of the mind is clear light.” Both of these passages indicate that the nature of the mind does not exist inherently. The emptiness of ordinary beings’ minds has not been cleansed of obscurations; āryas have attained a certain degree of purity; the nature of buddhas’ minds is completely pure. In Praise to the Sphere of Reality (Dharmadhātu-stava), Nāgārjuna says (DS 2):
When that which forms the cause for all saṃsāra
is purified along the stages of the path,
this purity itself is nirvāṇa;
precisely this, the dharmakāya, too.
Here the cause for all saṃsāra could be understood as the unpurified aspect of the emptiness of inherent existence of the mind, according to Sūtrayāna, or as the unpurified subtlest clear light mind, according to Tantrayāna. Through cleansing that “cause,” nirvāṇa is attained. That nirvāṇa can be characterized as the truth body, specifically the nature truth body of a buddha, which is the final true cessation and the emptiness of the perfectly purified mind. The nature truth body is one nature with the wisdom truth body, the omniscient mind of a buddha. Here, the nature truth body is the meaning of bodhi.
12
The Mind and Its Potential
ONCE WE HAVE recognized the unsatisfactory nature of saṃsāra and identified its causes, the questions arise: Is liberation possible? If so, how do we attain it? To answer these, we must understand our mind, which is the basis for saṃsāra and nirvāṇa.
The Mind’s Potential
As sentient beings — beings with minds that are still obscured — we have great potential, our greatest potential being to become fully awakened buddhas, omniscient beings who have the wisdom, compassion, power, and skillful means to be of the greatest benefit to all.
A natural quality of mind is its ability to cognize objects. This capacity to be aware of and to know objects is already present; it does not have to be newly cultivated. Nevertheless, various obstructions can inhibit the mind from cognizing objects. When these are eliminated, the mind will have no difficulty knowing all phenomena.
One type of obstruction is physical matter; a wall obstructs us from seeing what is beyond it. When the wall is removed, our visual consciousness can see what is there. A second obstruction is distance and size: the object is too far away or too small for our cognitive faculties to come in contact with it. To some extent telescopes and microscopes have helped alleviate this difficulty. In these cases, we can know the object not because the mind has become clearer and better able to apprehend the object but because the object is brought within the range of our operable cognitive faculties.
A third difficulty concerns the cognitive faculties that are the bases of consciousness. The visual consciousness is able to perceive only visible forms, not sounds or other sense phenomena, because it is dependent on the eye faculty. If a healthy eye faculty is absent, the visual consciousness cannot perceive visible forms.
The type of brain a being has also influences what that being can perceive. A mental faculty dependent on an animal brain and one dependent on a human brain have different ranges of objects they can know. Due to the complexity of the brains of these two beings, t
he mental faculties and consciousnesses depending on them differ in what they can perceive and understand.
Furthermore, a mind proliferating with wrong views and overwhelmed with disturbing emotions is too distracted and preoccupied to turn its attention to other objects. The range of what such afflictive mental states can know becomes very limited. A calm mind can be more astute.
A further difficulty in knowing objects is that some objects are so subtle, profound, or vast that the ordinary mind is unable to cognize them. To know these objects, single-pointed concentration and/or wisdom that is freed from wrong conceptions is needed.
Another type of obstruction is subtle defilements on the mind that produce false appearances. These prevent us from attaining buddhahood, the state of omniscient mind. When these subtle defilements are removed, the mind will naturally perceive all phenomena. The main obstructions to omniscience are the latencies of afflictions, the subtle appearance of inherent existence that they produce, and the defilement preventing seeing the two truths simultaneously. After the wisdom realizing ultimate reality eliminates the afflictive obscurations, it must cleanse the cognitive obscurations from the mind. When every last defilement is removed, the mind is totally purified and its excellent qualities are fully developed. This is the state of buddhahood in which the capabilities of the mind have no limits. The effectiveness of a buddha’s activities depend not on the abilities of that buddha but on the receptivity of sentient beings.
Bhagawan, or “endowed victor,” is one epithet of the Buddha. The Buddha is endowed with all excellent qualities and is victorious in overcoming the four māras — the polluted aggregates, afflictions, death, and distraction to external objects. Since the mind has the natural capacity to be aware and to understand, when all obscurations have been removed, it will be able to directly perceive all phenomena. A buddha’s omniscient mind is able to realize simultaneously both veiled and ultimate truths with a single consciousness.
REFLECTION
1. Review the various factors that obstruct the mind’s knowing phenomena.
2. Contemplate that all of these can be eliminated.
3. Rest in the awareness of the potential of your mind to become omniscient.
Is Liberation Possible?
To review, disturbing emotions and wrong views are called afflictions because when they arise in the mind they afflict us and disturb our mental peace. In addition, they motivate us to do actions that disturb and afflict the peace of others. Fortunately, these afflictions can be removed, enabling us to attain liberation, a true state of peace that does not fluctuate according to external circumstances. Several factors make liberation possible.
(1) The basic or true nature of the mind is pure. The basic nature of the mind is clear like water. Dirt in a glass of water isn’t the nature of the water and can be removed. No matter how murky the water may be, its essential quality of clarity is never lost. This basic conventional nature (svabhāva) of the mind is clear and cognizant. It is the basis upon which awakening can be attained, and as such it is the ultimate source of our confidence that awakening is possible. Inanimate objects such as stones and trees cannot attain awakening because they lack the qualities of clarity and cognizance that only a mind possesses.
(2) The afflictions are adventitious; they are not part of the nature of the mind. Dharmakīrti says (PV 2.208ab):
The nature of the mind is clear light;
the defilements are adventitious.
Afflictions have not penetrated into the basic nature of the mind. The fact that afflictions are not always present in the mind indicates that every instance of the mind’s clarity and cognizance is not associated with afflictions. Sometimes our minds are peaceful and calm. Afflictions may arise and after a while pass away. If they were inherently part of the true nature of the mind, they would always be present and it would be impossible to eliminate them. But this is not the case.
The purest form of mind is the fundamental innate clear light mind. In ordinary beings this subtle clear light mind is neutral; it has never been and can never become nonvirtuous. However, by engaging in special yogic practices, it can be transformed into a virtuous state. From this perspective, too, we see that defilements are not inherent in the nature of the mind.
(3) It is possible to cultivate powerful antidotes — realistic and beneficial mental states — that eradicate the afflictions. Saying that defilements are adventitious means that when suitable conditions are present, the defilements can be removed from the basic nature of the mind. It does not mean that at one time afflictions did not exist and later came into existence. Rather, afflictions are beginningless and have continuously obscured our minds until now. They can be ceased completely when the proper antidote is applied. In Praise to the Sphere of Reality (DS 20–21), Nāgārjuna compares the mind to asbestos cloth that is filled with dirt. When put into fire, the dirt will burn, but not the cloth. Similarly, the fire of the wisdom realizing emptiness will destroy defilements, but the clear light mind will remain unscathed.
Afflictions are rooted in the ignorance that misapprehends reality. Ignorance grasps phenomena as inherently existent, whereas reasoning proves that in reality phenomena are empty of inherent existence. Since ignorance does not rest on a valid foundation, it can be overcome by the wisdom realizing emptiness. When ignorance is severed from its root, the afflictions that depend on it are also eradicated and can never return. Excellent qualities such as compassion cannot be undermined by wisdom because they rest on a valid foundation. Dharmakīrti affirms (PV1.220–21):
All flaws, being susceptible to decrease and increase, have counterforces (vipakṣa); hence due to having inculcated the counterforces through habituating oneself to them, at some point the pollutants should be eliminated.
The nature of the mind is such that it is free of pollutants and by nature it [a mind that has realized emptiness] has a real [undistorted] object. As such, it cannot be counteracted by what is opposite to it because, even if one were to attempt to do so, the mind is naturally inclined toward its nature.
REFLECTION
1. Reflect that the basic or true nature of the mind is pure and untainted.
2. Consider that the afflictions that plague your mind and cause so many disturbances in your life are adventitious; they are not embedded in the nature of the mind.
3. Reflect that it is possible to cultivate powerful antidotes to each and every affliction and obscuration.
4. Conclude that the possibility to attain liberation exists within you and that, given your precious human life with all conducive factors for practicing the path, you have the ability to attain liberation and full awakening.
Excellent Qualities Can Be Cultivated Limitlessly
In Commentary on Reliable Cognition, Dharmakīrti explains why it is possible to cultivate the mind’s excellent qualities limitlessly and to transform our ordinary mind into a buddha’s fully awakened mind. Three factors make this possible.
(1) The clear and cognizant nature of the mind is a stable basis for the cultivation of excellent qualities. It is firm and continual; there is nothing that can cease it. For example, if we continuously boil water, it will dry up and nothing will remain. There is no basis for limitlessly boiling water. Excellent qualities cannot be cultivated limitlessly on an unstable basis such as the physical body because it falls ill, ages, and eventually dies. However, the clear light mind is a stable and continuous basis for cultivating excellent qualities. The more we train in excellent qualities, the more those qualities will be enhanced limitlessly until they are fully perfected in the state of buddhahood.
(2) The mind can become habituated to excellent qualities that can be built up cumulatively. Excellent mental qualities can be built up gradually without having to begin anew each time we focus on developing them. A high jumper cannot develop his or her ability limitlessly. Each time the bar is raised, he or she must cover the same distance he jumped before, plus some more. The mind’s nature is different. The energy fr
om cultivating a quality one day remains, so that if that same quality is cultivated the next day, it builds on what was previously accomplished without having to reestablish it. We do not need to exert the same degree of energy to get to the same level on the second day, and that same effort will serve to increase that excellent quality. Of course this requires consistent training on our part, otherwise our spiritual “muscles” will atrophy. But if we practice regularly, our energy can be directed to enhancing the excellent qualities continuously until the point where they become so familiar that they are natural and spontaneous.
(3) Excellent qualities can be enhanced, but never diminished, by reasoning and wisdom. Constructive attitudes and emotions have a valid support in reasoning and wisdom. They can never be harmed by the wisdom realizing reality. Compassion, faith, integrity, generosity, concentration and all other excellent qualities can be cultivated together with wisdom and are enhanced by wisdom. For this reason, too, they can be cultivated limitlessly.
REFLECTION