The Three Gates of Liberation

“Emptiness is neither being nor nonbeing. It is free from all wrong views. It is neither produced nor destroyed, and it cannot be grasped by views. Why is this so? Because emptiness cannot be located in space. It has no form. It is not an object of perception. It has never been born, and the intellect cannot grasp it. Because it cannot be grasped, it embraces all dharmas and dwells only in non-discursive and non-discriminative wisdom. This is the only true and right understanding, bhikshus!”

“Bhikshus, dwelling in concentration, see the dissolution of form, and be free from the illusory nature of perception vis-à-vis form. See the dissolution of sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental formations, and be free from the illusory nature of perception vis-à-vis sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental formations. This meditation is called Signlessness, the Second Door of Liberation. Once you have entered this door, your knowledge will be pure. Because of this purity of understanding, the three defiling qualities of mind – greed, hatred, and delusion – will be uprooted.

“When you are dwelling in this knowledge, views concerning ‘me and mine’, and thus all views, no longer have the bases and the occasions to arise”

“Bhikshus, once you are free from the view ‘I am’, you no longer consider what you see, hear, feel and perceive as realities independent of your own consciousness. Why? Because you know that consciousness also arises from conditions and is impermanent. Because of its impermanent nature, it cannot be grasped either. This meditation is [also] called Wishlessness, the Third Door of Liberation. Once you enter this door, you experience fully the true nature of all dharmas…”