For the Benefit of All Beings: A Commentary on the Way of the Bodhisattva (Shambhala Classics)

by Dalai Lama XIV

The attainment of this blissful state has two aspects: realization and elimination. As the mind develops spiritual qualities and gets rid of all that hinders them, it increasingly gains the ability to see clearly the nature of phenomena, until it perceives the ultimate nature without any obstruction. This perception of phenomena as they really are is the wisdom that knows everything without the least misconception. It is a state of wisdom that cannot be veiled, nor can it deteriorate. The aspect of realization refers to meditation on the absence of reality in phenomena. This leads to the perfect knowledge of the multiplicity of phenomena and the perfect knowledge of their nature. Then, through the power of antidotes, we eliminate all the veils that obscure our understanding, which enables us to perceive phenomena in their naked form and attain the perfect knowledge of all phenomena without exception. These three kinds of perfect knowledge constitute the three characteristics of reaching bliss through realization.