Samdhinirmocana-sutra

Chapter VI"World-honored One, the meaning of suchness thus discerned[in that reflection] is a meaning [carried by] an image. Is thisimage of true suchness also to be abandoned or not?""Good son, in the meaning of true suchness which they discern,there is no image whatsoever and nothing to be attained.How then could it be abandoned? Good son, as I have explained it,that meaning of true suchness which they discern dispenses withany kind of image that might [carry] any meaning. Thus it is notthe case that this discernment itself can be replaced with anythingelse.""World-honored One, you have given the examples of the brokenwater basin, the dirty mirror, and the bubbling spring as beingsurfaces that do not sustain any surface image for consideration.The opposite of these would then sustain [that image]. In like fashion,if one has a mind not cultivated, then one will not sustain atrue understanding of suchness, but when that mind is well cultivated,then one will sustain such an understanding. In this explanation,what is the thinking that is capable of such a penetratingunderstanding? What kind of suchness were you talking about?""Good son," [the Buddha answered,] "in that explanation thereare three kinds of thinking capable of penetrating understanding:the thinking that is capable of understanding from what has beenheard, the thinking that is capable of understanding from whathas been thought, and the thinking that is capable of understandingfrom what has been cultivated. I presented that explanationin light of the suchness of conscious construction.""World-honored One, those bodhisattvas have discerned andknow both doctrine and meanings and have been earnest in theircultivation to abandon all images. How many kinds of diflficultto-abandonimages do they abandon? And how do they in factabandon them?""Good son, there are ten kinds of such images, and those bodhisattvasare able to abandon them through emptiness. First, becausethey discern and know both doctrine and meanings, thereare the various images of writings and words, which they are able70ia65