Chapter 9: The Secret of the Realized One’s Mind

9.1Once more Vajrapāṇi, Lord of the Guhyakas, spoke to the bodhisattva of great courage, Śāntamati: “In this regard, Śāntamati, what is the secret of the mind of the realized ones and the purity of their mental action? Śāntamati, let me draw an analogy: Those beings who have been reborn among the classes of gods in the formless realm remain focused upon a single object of consciousness for eighty-four thousand eons. They do not change the object of their consciousness to a different object of consciousness so long as their concentration lasts until the time they die and acquire another rebirth in accordance with their accumulation of karma. In precisely the same way, Śāntamati, a realized one has a mind that is not fixed on anything, in such a way that from the night when the bodhisattva awakens to unsurpassable and perfect awakening until the night when the Realized One passes into complete cessation, the state of cessation that is free of any remaining thing, during the intervening time there is no modification of the Realized One’s mind; no mental activity; no mental examination; no forgetfulness of mind; no mental alteration; no measurement of mind; no excitement of mind; no mental conflict; no mental avoidance; no mental distraction; no mental elation; no mental depression; no mental protection; no movement of mind; no excessive joyfulness in the mind; no mental disturbance; no malice in the mind; no vacillation of mind; no special comprehension of mind; no mental stimulation; no mental pressure; no application of mind; no wandering of the mind; no formation of ideas in the mind; no mental conceptualization; no mental imagination; no calming state of mind, no deep mental insight; [F.144.b] no consciousness that chases after thoughts; no dwelling on one’s own thoughts; no mental perception of the thoughts of others; no support from the mind for the eye; no support from the mind for the intellect, the physical body, the tongue, nose, or ear; no support from the mind for visual forms; no support from the mind for thoughts, tactile sensations, tastes, smells, or sounds; no support from the mind for mental objects; no place in the mind for mental appearances; no mind that is without a place; no internal place for the mind; and no external place for the mind. He also has a mind that does not engage with things, a mind that does not engage with knowledge, and also a mind that is not perceived as being past, present, or future.

9.2“In this way, Śāntamati, a realized one has purity of mind, and he does not produce any mental object with the mind. Yet, he develops a knowledge and vision toward all things without any aversion or attachment. With the purity of his own mind, he does not perceive the mind of any being as impure. He sees, but he does not see anything, and he does not form any concepts. He sees, but he does not generate any conceptual elaborations. He does not see seeing or discerning by means of seeing. In addition, the knowledge of the realized one is not connected with the vision of the eye of flesh, nor is it connected with the vision of the divine eye, nor is it connected with the vision of the eye of wisdom, nor is it connected with the vision of the eye of Dharma, nor is it connected with the vision of the buddha eye. It is not connected with the hearing of the divine ear. It is not connected with the knowledge of others’ minds. It is not connected with the remembrance of past lives. It is not connected with the marvelous manifestation of superhuman powers. It is not connected with the knowledge of the destruction of the defilements.

9.3“He is disconnected from attachment to everything while not being disconnected from anything, and thus streams of a realized one’s knowledge become manifest for him effortlessly, spontaneously, and without fabrication [F.145.a] so that he perceives the behaviors of all beings, knows about the purification of all beings’ afflictions, and never becomes bewildered. This is due to the ten powers, the forms of self-assurance, and the eighteen unique attributes of a buddha. These qualities of a realized one come into being spontaneously, effortlessly, and without fabrication. Moreover, a realized one is free of mental consciousness and mind; he does not leave the state of meditative concentration, but he performs all the deeds of a buddha. Due to the fact that his knowledge is unattached to everything, he does not cling to anything.

9.4“Indeed, Śāntamati, consider the example of a realized one who magically creates the form of a second realized one. While no mind, no mental consciousness, no bodily formations, no verbal formations, and no mental formations are produced with respect to this magically created form, it still performs all the deeds of a buddha, and it does so only by means of the majestic power of a buddha. In precisely the same way, Śāntamati, a realized one, being equivalent to a magically created form and something that does not form concepts, because it has the quality of a magically created form, does not appear as something of bodily origin, verbal origin, or mental origin, but performs all the deeds of a buddha, and does so spontaneously, effortlessly, and without fabrication. Why is this? Śāntamati, a realized one has awoken to the fact that all things have, as their defining characteristic, the essential nature of being magically created, and having awoken to this fact, a realized one illuminates all things out of compassion for beings.

9.5“Moreover, Śāntamati, a realized one’s knowledge is not founded on what is conditioned, nor is it founded on what is unconditioned. It is not founded on the aggregates, nor is it founded on the element s, nor is it founded on the sense spheres. [F.145.b]. It is not founded on what is interior, nor is it founded on what is exterior. It is not founded on what is good, nor is it founded on what is bad. It is not worldly, nor is it transcendent. It is not blameworthy, nor is it blameless. It is not defiled, nor is it undefiled. It is not situated in the past, nor is it situated in the future, nor is it situated in the present. It is not based on enumerative analysis, nor does it come from a lack of enumeration. In this way, Śāntamati, a realized one is one whose knowledge has no foundation. Without undertaking anything whatsoever, but out of compassion for beings, his knowledge and vision of the thoughts, actions, and motivations of all beings arises without attachment or impediment, and this happens effortlessly, spontaneously, and without fabrication.

9.6“This, Śāntamati, is the secret of a realized one’s mind and the inconceivable nature of his thoughts‍—he does not leave the state of meditative concentration, but he meets the demands of all beings.

9.7This was the ninth chapter, “The Secret of the Realized One’s Mind.”