འཕགས་པ་དགངས་པ་ངས་པར་འགྲལ་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 71

71

or what is not subject to change; the phenomenal appearance distinct or indistinct from the defining characteristic specific to the conditioned; the phenomenal appearance of everything as a result of having the notion of ‘everything’ in reference to anything; and the phenomenal appearance of the selflessness of the person and of phenomena. The bodhisattva’s mind remains in complete equanimity toward all these phenomenal appearances as they manifest.

“Continually practicing in this way, they will in due time purify their minds from obstacles, obstructions, and distractions. In the course of this practice, the seven aspects of the cognition that is personal and intuitive, the gnosis²³⁶ that is the awakening²³⁷ to the seven aspects of true reality, will arise. Such is the bodhisattvas’ path of seeing. By obtaining it, bodhisattvas have entered the faultless state of truth,²³⁸ are born into the lineage of tathāgatas, and, upon obtaining the first stage, enjoy all the advantages of this stage. Because they have already obtained mental stillness and insight, they have attained their two referential objects: the image with conceptualization and the image without conceptualization. Thus, having obtained the path of seeing, they attain the point where phenomena end.²³⁹

“In the higher stages, they enter the path of practice and direct their attention toward their threefold referential object.²⁴⁰ It is like this: in the way one uses a smaller wedge to pull out a larger one and thus drives out a wedge by means of a wedge, they eliminate all phenomenal appearances related to affliction by eliminating internal phenomenal appearances. When they eliminate them, they also eliminate corruption. By getting rid of phenomenal appearance and corruption, they gradually purify their minds in the higher stages in the way gold is refined. They will attain the unsurpassable, complete and perfect awakening and also obtain the realization of the object corresponding to the accomplishment of the goal.²⁴¹ Thus, Maitreya,