འཕགས་པ་རྣམ་པར་མ་རྟག་པར་འཇག་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བའ་གཟངས intro.17

intro.17

The Buddha next presents a sequence of reflections to be used to relinquish conceptual signs and thereby reach the nonconceptual realm. Whenever a conceptual mark arises, bodhisattvas should not entertain the idea that such a mark is their own or belongs to another; bodhisattvas should not regard that mark as actually representing a real phenomenon that arises or ceases, is pure or defiled, exists or does not exist, or has an intrinsic nature; they should not think of the phenomenon as being a cause, an effect, or any type of action; bodhisattvas should not apprehend any phenomena apart from the act of cognitive representation (Skt. vijñapti; Tib. rnam par rig pa), nor should they consider that which is distinct from cognition to be unreal; they should not think cognition itself to be either real or unreal; and finally, when they no longer engage with any of these concepts, they should even give up the idea “this is the nonconceptual.” Only when bodhisattvas become stable in this realization do they enter into the nonconceptual realm.