The Changeless Nature

Buddha Nature 61In this example, worldly existence is like the pauper hostel andimpure beings are like the pregnant woman. Since she does have thisbeing within her, she has a future protector. The immaculate buddhanaturecan be compared to the embryonic king in her womb.The woman's body is dressed in dirty clothes, her form is unpleasantand she endures the worst of sorrows in the pauper hostel,even though a ruler is dwelling in her womb. Similarly, even thoughthey have this protector residing within them, beings who considerthemselves unprotected have no peace of mind, being overpoweredby the negative affects, and so they stay in the ground of suffering.Ninth ExampleUpon seeing a complete and peace-inspiring image of cast gold,but still enclosed within its mould and having the external appearanceof clay, one capable of recognising what was there would remove theouter coating in order to cleanse the inner gold.The perfectly-enlightened perfectly see that the nature of mind,lucid clarity, is covered with transient impurity. Hence they purifybeings, who are like a mine of jewels, of these obscurations.Just as someone well-versed in the technique of casting removesall the clay because he knows the nature of the peace-inspiring imagemade of bright, stainless gold that it contains, so likewise do theomniscient know the peaceful nature of mind which is like thecleansed gold. They clean away all veils by knocking off the clay-likeobscurations through various ways of explaining the dharma.C1. Summary and Meaning of the Nine ExamplesWithin the lotus, the bee-swarm, the husk, the filth, the ground,the fruit skin, the tattered rags, the woman's womb and the clay