The State of Androgyny

Body and mind are mutually dependent and influence each other. If an obstacle arises in the mind consciousness, it must be that a problem has occurred in the supreme faculty (rūpa-prasāda). The problems of the supreme faculty are of two kinds: one is that innate karmic seeds ripen into manifestation when conditions mature, and karmic retribution appears; the other is that acquired factors cause obstructions in the supreme faculty. Step outside yourself and look at the physical body: it is entirely a robot that needs constant lubrication to keep working—there is truly nothing worth craving or clinging to. A noble and virtuous soul is worth far more than the physical body, and a soul endowed with wisdom is worth countless times more than the physical body. Therefore, we should all pursue a higher level of mind, pursuing liberation of the mind and wisdom.

A higher level of mind must have transformed consciousness into wisdom, fully endowed with meditative concentration (samādhi) and prajñā, sufficient to transform the physical body, making it adorned with major and minor marks (lakṣaṇa-vyañjana), possessing the strengths of both the male and the female—in appearance bearing both male and female features, able to perfectly blend the male and female forms into one, achieving androgyny. The power of meditative concentration can cultivate such androgyny, making the physical body untainted, with no need to rely on the opposite sex to supplement or compensate for one's own deficiencies. In this way, one becomes an independent personality, and oneself becomes ever more perfect, and in the future one can be born by transformation from a lotus flower. With meditative concentration at the level of the first dhyāna or above, one will know what initial androgyny is like, but the concentration of the first dhyāna is not enough; it still requires long-term sustained cultivation, even cultivation over long kalpas.

This is androgyny discussed from the perspective of meditative concentration and the physical body. The most fundamental androgyny refers to the spiritual, the mental: in spirit, perseverance, character, temperament, bearing, personality, cultivation, conduct, and so forth, one is fully endowed with both the strengths and wisdom of the male and the strengths and wisdom of the female, with no need to rely on the opposite sex to compensate for deficiencies in one's resolve, because one inherently possesses this dual nature, already perfect or approaching perfection, superior to worldly people. Great bodhisattvas are generally androgynous, possessing the strengths of both genders, including wisdom and physical appearance. Buddhas and bodhisattvas cannot be distinguished as male or female by their appearance, and in wisdom, male and female are alike; hence they are called "great persons" (mahāpuruṣa).

The appearance of the devas of the form realm is not differentiated into male and female; they all possess meditative concentration of the first dhyāna or above. The inhabitants of the land of bliss (Sukhāvatī) and of many other buddha-lands are likewise not differentiated by gender, with no distinction of sex; their physical bodies remain forever young—this is the retribution brought about by meditative concentration, merit, and wisdom. When there is no distinction of gender, getting along with one another is especially at ease, with no sense of discord, no conflicts/disputes/gossip, no afflictive emotions—feeling comfortable, at ease, and natural. But when the two genders live together, there are many troubles, wasting a great deal of energy and mental effort.