Samdhinirmocana-sutra

Chapter VIsuchness as it has been well considered, well examined, and wellestablished. Because of their reflection upon suchness, they areable to abandon the appearances of all subtle images, not to mentiongross images. Good son, these subtle images refer to images of theappropriation of thinking; images of experience; images of consciousconstruction; images of defilement and purification; imagesof the interior; images of the exterior; images of both interior andexterior; images that one must act for the benefit of sentient beings;images of true wisdom; images of suchness, images of [thefour truths of] suffering, its origin, its destruction, and the path;images of the conditioned; images of the unconditioned; images ofeternity; images of transience; images of the nature of sufferingand change; images of the unchanging; images of the differentcharacteristics of the conditioned; images of the identical characteristicsof the conditioned; the image that there is a universaljust because one knows a universal; images of the no-self of persons;and images of the no-self of things."They are able to abandon all thoughts that appear in theirminds and, because they continually abide in such an activity,over a period of time they cultivate a mind to counteract all entanglements,obfuscations, and distractions. Afterwards, theyinternally engender penetrating discernment in regard to each ofthe seven suchnesses, for this is the path of insight. Because ofthis attainment they are said to have entered the assured statusof a bodhisattva exempt from rebirth, for they are born into thehousehold of the Tathagata and, entering into the first stage, theyare able to enjoy the superior good qualities of this stage. Duringthis initial period, because they have attained quietude and vision,they have already attained the two objects—the objects accompaniedby images for reflection and the objects that are notaccompanied by images for reflection—for it is at this point thatthey attain the path of insight. They also realize as the object oftheir understanding the limits of the phenomenal. Then afterwardsin all the stages they cultivate the path of meditation while attentivelyreflecting upon these three kinds of objects. Just like a man702b71