The Changeless Nature

60 The Changeless Nature122 Worldly existence is like the pauper hosteland impure beings are like the pregnant woman.Having this being within her, she has a protectorand the embryo is like the immaculate nature.123 The woman is dressed in dirty clothes,her form unpleasant and in the pauper-homeshe must endure the worst of sorrows,even though a ruler dwells within her womb.Similarly, even though within themthey have a protector residing,beings believing themselves undefendedcan never find their peace of mind,being by defilement overpowered —so in the ground of suffering' they remain.124 Upon seeing a complete and peaceful statue,cast in gold yet still within its mould,externally like clay, those who knowwould remove the outer coveringto cleanse the gold that lies within.125 The perfectly-enlightened perfectly seethat the nature of mind, clarity,is covered by transient impurities.Hence from these obscurations they cleansebeings, who are like mines of precious gems.J26 Just as an expert removes all the clay,knowing the nature of the peaceful statuein bright stainless gold which it contains,so likewise the omniscient knowthe peace of mind like the cleansed gold:chipping away, by means of dharma explanation,they clean away each and every obscuration.127 Inside the lotus, the bees, the husk, the filth,the ground, the fruit skin, the tattered rags,the woman's womb and the clay mould there are