Do Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who manifest in the world all experience neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling?

Neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling is also a kind of feeling; it arises and ceases moment by moment, flowing and changing—this is called the suffering of formations. Therefore, all feeling is suffering. However, among feelings, neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling is the most comfortable and at ease, and it does not disturb the mind. This kind of feeling arises in three ways: first, it is induced by wisdom; second, it is induced by meditative concentration (samādhi); third, it is induced by both meditative concentration and wisdom together. The neutral feeling (upekṣā-vedanā) of neither pain nor pleasure induced by both meditative concentration and wisdom can lean neither toward pain nor toward pleasure, and it is relatively enduring and stable.

If meditative concentration is lost, the neutral feeling will lean to one side—sometimes toward pain, sometimes toward pleasure—and will change according to conditions. But since wisdom is still there supporting it after all, the deviation and change are not too great, and one can make adjustments anytime and anywhere. This wisdom must be true wisdom, wisdom realized through personal realization, not the kind of wisdom that is mere intellectual understanding by the mind consciousness. The kind of wisdom that is merely intellectual understanding has no meditative concentration to rely upon and support it in the first place, so its effect is limited.

When Buddhas and Bodhisattvas manifest in worlds similar to the Sahā world, because the Buddha possesses unsurpassed wisdom and His mind is always in meditative concentration, He is forever without feeling—He does not take up any feeling at all, and thus does not take up any feelings of pain or pleasure, nor neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling. For example, when Śākyamuni Buddha's clan was slaughtered and exterminated by King Virūḍhaka, leaving scarcely any relatives, the Buddha was able to face it with equanimity, no different from ordinary times. This is because He possessed great wisdom and could clearly see the law of cause and effect; He knew this was karma that could not be escaped, and He knew that relatives are illusory and impermanent—they are not forever relatives, nor is there any real substance to "relatives." Added to this is the Buddha's power of meditative concentration, so He could calmly face these so-called misfortunes.

But Ānanda could not do so. When Ānanda faced this event, his mind was darkened and he suffered immensely. Although Ānanda was also a returning Bodhisattva, and his suffering may have been a display, setting aside the matter of display, the reasons for Ānanda's suffering were: first, he still had emotional attachment, clinging to familial affection; second, he still could not see through the illusory impermanence of sentient beings' worlds; third, he could not see through the causes and effects involved; fourth, Ānanda only possessed the first dhyāna, and even that was the result of Śākyamuni Buddha's blessing—the first dhyāna did not always remain present, so his mind could not always abide in meditative concentration. These several reasons caused Ānanda's state of mind to be utterly different from the Buddha's; he could not relinquish painful feeling and abide in equanimity.

Bodhisattvas at the fourth bhūmi and above have perfectly and completely accomplished the four dhyānas and eight samādhis; their minds are forever in meditative absorption (samādhi), and their minds are forever in the neutral feeling of neither pain nor pleasure. However, before the seventh bhūmi, Bodhisattvas still have a tendency to enter nirvāṇa without remainder (anupadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa). Why is there this tendency to enter nirvāṇa without remainder? It is still because their minds do not delight in the world; their neutral feeling is not ultimate and thorough, and there remains clinging. Bodhisattvas at the eighth bhūmi and above have minds that are even more empty; their grasping on dharmas is extremely slight, their emotional attachment has been completely severed, and their karmic obstructions from past lives have been mostly eliminated. Their wisdom and compassion are deeper and sharper, and their minds forever correspond to neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, in a relatively thorough and ultimate way.

Bodhisattvas before the first bhūmi have not eliminated afflictions; where there are afflictions, there are feelings of pain and pleasure, and sometimes also neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling. Bodhisattvas from the first to the fourth bhūmi, although they have eliminated afflictions, still retain afflictive habits, which are relatively heavy. When the habits arise, there will be feelings of pain and pleasure; times of neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling are more frequent, and times of inner calm are more frequent. During this period, the Bodhisattvas' karmic obstructions, great and small, will still manifest. If their meditative concentration weakens, there will be feelings of pain and pleasure; if their meditative concentration remains deep, the mind will be very calm, even though the surrounding circumstances are unsatisfactory.

In summary, whether a Bodhisattva abides in a particular kind of feeling or abides in no feeling at all depends on the power of samādhi of concentration and wisdom, on the shallowness or depth of karmic obstructions, on the depth or absence of clinging, as well as on some other factors.