The true attainment of suchness, free of hindrance in the ten directions, is called the Transference of Unfettered Liberation.

The true attainment of suchness. What is meant by True Suchness? It means the true attainment of suchness. One truly obtains that which is thus. “True” refers to all truth. “Suchness” is a principle, the principle of the absolute. The concordance of the wisdom of the absolute and the principle of the absolute is called True Suchness. Now, the wisdom of the absolute and the principle of the absolute have been truly obtained, so one is free of hindrance in the ten directions. You can roam throughout the Buddhalands of the ten directions without any impediments or obstructions. There is no hindrance whatsoever. This is called the Transference of Unfettered Liberation. There are no more fetters. Fetters tie one up. Now all fetters are gone, so you are free. You are liberated. This is the Transference of Unfettered Liberation.

When the virtue of the nature is perfectly accomplished, the boundaries of the Dharma realm are destroyed. This is called the Transference of the Limitlessness of the Dharma Realm.

When the virtue of the nature is perfectly accomplished... Before the virtue of the nature is perfectly accomplished, before you have become one with the Dharma realm, your measure is not the measure of the Dharma realm. When the virtue of the nature has been perfectly accomplished and you become one with the Dharma realm, if you still have the notion of a limit, of a measure, then you have not yet reached the ultimate. Now, the limits of the Dharma realm are destroyed. The measure of the Dharma realm is wiped out and gone. In fact, the Dharma realm is empty. This is called the Transference of the Limitlessness of the Dharma Realm. In this transference, even the Dharma realm has no limit or measure.

Ananda, when these good men have attained purity in these forty-one minds, they further accomplish four kinds of wonderfully perfect additional practices.

Ananda, when these good men mentioned above, these Bodhisattvas who are cultivating, have attained purity in these forty-one minds…The level of dry wisdom is also called “the initial mind of dry wisdom” and “the initial vajra mind,” because the vajra mind is right at the beginning. Starting with this level of dry wisdom, we add the Ten Faiths, the Ten Dwellings, the Ten Conducts, and the Ten Transferences—these forty levels. These forty minds plus the level of dry wisdom comprise the forty-one minds. Following the positions of these forty-one minds, they further accomplish four kinds of wonderfully perfect additional practices. These are the positions of the wonderfully perfect additional practices; they are: heat, summit, patience, and first in the world.

He takes the Buddhas’ enlightenment as his own; it is on the verge of emerging but has not yet emerged. This can be compared to the point just before wood ignites when it is drilled to produce fire. It is called the Level of Heat.

This passage is describing the first of the positions of the four additional practices, the position of heat. What is the position of heat? It’s like when one is drilling wood to start a fire; at the point just before the wood ignites, it becomes heated. So this is called the Level of Heat. He takes the Buddhas’ enlightenment as his own. The Buddhas’ enlightenment and his own enlightenment are the same. It is on the verge of emerging but has not yet emerged. This means his mind is on the verge of enlightenment, but has not truly become enlightened yet. This can be compared to the point just before wood ignites when it is drilled to produce fire. What is this like? It’s like drilling wood to get fire. When the wood ignites, there is fire, and that represents enlightenment. When the wood is drilled until it is right on the point of bursting into flame, there is heat, and so it is called the Level of Heat. This position comes after the above forty-one minds. This is the forty-second position, and it is called the Level of Heat.

Further, he continues on with his mind, treading where the Buddhas tread, as if relying and yet not. It is as if he were climbing a lofty mountain, to the point where his body is in space but there remains a slight obstruction beneath him. This is called the Level of the Summit.

The previous analogy of drilling wood to produce fire was for the Level of Heat. Now, he continues on with his mind, treading where the Buddhas tread, as if relying and yet not. His own mind goes down the path the Buddhas take. In the previous case, he took the Buddhas’ enlightenment as his own, and it was like drilling wood to get fire. Now, with his own mind, he achieves the ground that the Buddhas walk on. He seems to be dependent and yet he is also independent. Another analogy is used here. What is it? In this position, it is as if he were climbing a lofty mountain to the point where his body is in space but there remains a slight obstruction beneath him. He is like someone climbing a mountain. When he gets to the top, it is as if he is in the air because he is so high up. But under his feet, as he stands on the mountain, there is still a slight hindrance. He still has not yet ascended into empty space.This is called the Level of the Summit. This is the position of the summit. It is like when one reaches the summit of a mountain, one’s body is in the air but one’s feet are still standing on the ground. Thus, this is called the Level of the Summit.

To be continued