The Second Door of Liberation is signlessness, animitta. “Sign” here means an appearance or the object of our perception. When we see something, a sign or image appears to us, and that is what is meant by “lakshana.” If water, for example, is in a square container, its sign is “squareness.” If in a round container, its sign is “roundness.” When we open the freezer and take out some ice, the sign of that water is solid. Chemists call water “H2O.” The snow on the mountain and the steam rising from the kettle are also H2O. Whether H2O is round or square, liquid, gaseous, or solid depends on
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