..續本文上一頁at eventually decay; pain, ageing, and death are the result. The Buddhas, on the other hand, see the true nature and have realized the dharmakaya. Having ascertained emptiness, they manifest natural and all-embracing love and compassion. The rupakayas arise through the force of compassion and joy. This is the difference between an ordinary body and the precious form of a Buddha.

　　Is it reversible

　　It will not change back to the previous state

　　Because it has manifested exactly as it is.

　　We saw that the Buddha nature is not identical with what is usually described as “a self,” that it is not the same as nirvana of the Shravakas and Pratyekabuddhas, and that the rupakayas have a different body than ordinary living beings. Can the state of Buddhahood fall into a state of delusion again

　　 No.

　　There are non-Buddhists who claim that one cannot attain Buddhahood and argue that when gold is melted into fluid or water into steam, both gold and water eventually return to their former state. That is why they insist that one cannot attain Buddhahood without returning to the former state, which - as we saw - is delusive. However, this is not the case because when one attains Buddhahood, one has gained recognition of all things as they really are and consequently one cannot fall back into illusion and delusion. Siddhas and scholars show through example that the nature of gold is solid and does not become or turn hard. Likewise, the true nature of the mind is not defiled and therefore it isn”t possible for a Buddha to return to incidental stains that never were real anyway.

　　Can stains arise again

　　There will never (again) be the appearance of the stains

　　Because there is freedom from differentiating conceptualisation.

　　Won”t delusions arise again once the stains have been eliminated

　　 His Holiness the Third Karmapa explicitly answered, no. Delusions cannot resurface when there is all-encompassing knowledge and wisdom. Opponents argue that a long-distance jumper can train to jump further and further but will never be able to jump into infinity. Using this example, they insist that Buddhahood is not omniscience and that it cannot be attained, i.e., wisdom can increase but will never become omniscient. Siddhas refute this point logically and teach that the body and mind are not identical. They disprove the wrong view and state that one can train the body to jump very far, not into infinity, true, yet the mind can become free from delusive hopes and fears. Once delusions and defilements have been removed through knowledge and realization of the true, what has been eliminated cannot possibly arise again.

　　Can the Buddha nature be realized

　　Therefore, the mind, this Buddha,

　　Is present now, but is not known.

　　Rangjung Dorje encouraged his pupils by writing this verse and reminds us that one can attain Buddhahood because the Buddha nature, which is permanent and ever-lasting, is present within - it is innately ours and abides in every living being, always and already. Yet, multitudes of living beings are not able to see it since incidental stains and defilements obscure and conceal it. Once the stains have been removed, the true nature of the mind manifests freely and clearly, and this is the incomparable state of an Awakened One, of a Marvellous Buddha.

　　14. Quotations that Describe Realization of the Buddha Nature

　　His Holiness the Third Karmapa continued with a chapter of quotations that describe realization of the Buddha nature from sutras before closing with veneration and gratitude, dedicating any good that may arise from having written The Tathagatarabhashastra for the well being of all.

　　A quotation from the “Sutralamkara”

　　“When there is realization, at that time,

　　Just as when the heat of metal ceases

　　And conjunctivitis in…

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