The Changeless Nature

Buddha Nature 63mould are the buddha, the honey, the kernel, the gold, the treasure,the big tree, the precious image, the universal monarch and the goldenfigure. Similarly to what is seen in those examples, it is said that theshell of the negative affects which obscures the buddha-nature inbeings is beginningless and unconnected with it. The stainlessness ofthe true nature of mind is also beginningless.The Nine Examples of Impurity1. Desire,2. aversion,3. ignorance,4. these three (1, 2 &3) in their strongly active state,5. these three as karmic conditioning,6. those things which are to be abandoned for (achievement of)the path of insight 43 ,7. those things which are to be abandoned for (achievement of)the path of cultivation 43 ,8. the impurities present in the 'impure' 1st — 7th bodhisattvalevels and9. the impurities in the 'pure' 8th — 10th 44 bodhisattva levels:these above nine types of impurity have been illustrated by theexample of the lotus 'shell' and so forth. Although the shell of thesubsidiary defilements could be divided into infinite categories, todescribe it in brief nine sorts of impurity — desire etc. — have beenwell-illustrated by the above nine examples respectively i. e. the lotus'shell' etc.The Individuals in Whom These are PresentThese pollutions respectively give rise to the four impuritiespresent in 'ordinary beings' (1-4 above), one present in Arhats (5),two present in beings training in dharma (6-7) and two impurities ofthe 'wise' (8-9).1. One's mind feels so happy to behold the beauty of a lotus, the'flower born of mud', yet later becomes unhappy as the lotusgrows old and withered. Happiness associated with desire is likethat.