The Out-of-Body Phenomenon of Consciousness (II)

When the mind consciousness leaves the body, the feeling is one of flying above or beside the body while watching it. When the mind consciousness does not leave the body, the feeling is that it and the body are one inseparable whole. These feelings are, after all, just feelings; whether one leaves the body or not, none of it is real. One should earnestly investigate what the Śūraṅgama Sūtra teaches: the tathāgatagarbha nature of all dharmas—none of them goes outside the tathāgatagarbha; they are within the tathāgatagarbha. Does the tathāgatagarbha have an inside or an outside? Not at all. Then what are these dharmas, or what is their state? Do they have any real substance? These contents are extremely important—utterly important. Only by thoroughly awakening to these dharmas and emptying the mind all the way to the bottom can one directly attain buddhahood; nothing else can lead directly to buddhahood.