- [Cleary]: Illusion is not nonexistent; its existence is spoken of because it is of the same nature of things; unreal, like a flash of lightning, they are therefore noted as analogous to illusion.
You have to realize that for a Lankavatarian who adheres to the teachings of the Lanka, the visible-objective world, while a product of illusion, is not non-existent. It is what Tozen once described as a “concrete intellectual synthesis highly visible and touchable”. One can be assured of this if a Zen-Master were to suddenly slap you so hard that your teeth begin to rattle inside that noggin of yours! This concreteness though is still the stuff of Maya—synthesized matter. Breaking this matter down using a quantum-lens, it is a bundle of molecules swimming in a vast cosmic pool filled with particles of hyle. An advanced one, a Yogin who possesses exceptional siddhis powers can break-through the seeming solidness of the wall and can even become invisible at will, or even walk right through that apparently solid wall! Such a one is known as a Master [over] illusion—because once that wall is thoroughly broken down to that last hyle-particle, deceptive concrete existence is smothered with nothingness.
- (Chapter II verse 144) There is nothing that is to be born, nor is there anything that has been born; even causation is not; it is because of worldly usage that things are talked of as existing.
Birth, existence, dissolution, are all products of conventional-reality. This has to do with what Nāgārjuna termed conventional truths—or what appears to be so through ordinary consciousness. Nothing in the material world is original, it’s all replicas bearing the mark of dependent associations.
- [Cleary]: Conditions’ affliction of dissolution and origin cannot be avoided; but what the ignorant imagine of conditions is completely avoidable.
Ignorance is bliss because the ignorant are unaware of the mark of their dependent associations. If they were to awaken from their deep slumber, they would be empowered to un-imagine all aspects of conditionality.
- (Chapter III verse 48) There is no self-nature, no thought-construction, no reality, no Alaya-vijnana; these, indeed, are so many discriminations cherished by the ignorant who like a corpse are bad logicians.
One needs to be careful and mindful of the use of terminology, even language the Lanka uses, are just [mind-conventions] designed to point toward greater Self-realizations. If one were to consider them as Absolutes in themselves they would be gravely mistaken.
- (Chapter II verse 136) When those who are born of the Buddha see that the world is no more than Mind itself, they will obtain a body of transformation, which has nothing to do with effect-producing worlds but which is endowed with the powers, psychic faculties, and self-control.
An excellent passage illustrating that when one whole-heartedly puts on the Unborn Buddha Mind, it will be like putting on a Virtual reality-visor—clearly showing that all is nothing more than projected mind-conventions, nothing more than the product of the imaginary mindset. A side-benefit is the reward of a transformation-body, or manomayakaya, which is really a product of Self-will (Suzuki also referred to this body as the Will-Body, i.e., made of Mind) and not just an after-effect induced by the vijnanas.
- When the mind is evolved, forms begin to manifest themselves; really [if] no minds, no forms; the mind is due to [the accumulation of] delusions since beginningless past; then the Yogin by his transcendental wisdom sees the world shorn of its appearances (abhasa).
No-mind, no-mind projections. The Lanka is really all about a projection-less affair! The highly skilled Yogin, through Buddha-gnosis, can see through and pierce the veil of the illusion-maker. Abhasa in this context connotes a “fallacious appearance”; yet another connotation is constant attention, or inducing stillness of mind—a Yogin does so through direct and undivided one-pointedness of mind—Biguan (Originating from Bodhidharma’s Wall-contemplation).
- (Chapter III verse 53) Individual form, reality, thought-construction, these are [only] a mental disturbance; transcending all this, my sons will walk where there is no discrimination.
Thus transcending all Mind-conventions, the true-children of the Unborn will walk completely unawares of any further mind permutations.