What Is Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva

Who is the Contemplating Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva? Bodhisattvas can be divided into two kinds: true bodhisattvas and false bodhisattvas. A true bodhisattva refers to the tathāgatagarbha mind-substance, which is free from arising and ceasing; He attentively and meticulously watches over the bodhisattva's five-aggregate body, never ceasing for a moment. The other kind is the bodhisattva with a five-aggregate body that is subject to arising and ceasing.

"Freedom" (śīvatā) is also of two kinds. One is the intrinsic freedom of the tathāgatagarbha itself: He can exist independently without relying on any dharma, needing nothing at all, neither arising nor ceasing. The other is the freedom of the five-aggregate body: only when the five aggregates attain liberation can there be freedom; without liberation, there is no freedom.

This Contemplating Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, who possesses a five-aggregate body, has extremely deep meditative concentration and wisdom; he can freely and at ease observe and deliberate upon the most profound meanings—this is freedom. He can observe the true mind's substance and nature anytime and anywhere—this is freedom, with the prerequisite that he has already realized the true mind through enlightenment; only then can he make profound and detailed observations. This bodhisattva can observe his own true mind's substance and nature—how it operates, how it works in conjunction with the five aggregates to produce all dharmas—and he can also observe how the true minds of other sentient beings in the six realms operate, how they manifest, and how they coordinate with the five aggregates—this is freedom.

This bodhisattva's mind is free: it can remain unbound by the five aggregates and all dharmas, does not crave or become defiled by any dharma, the mind can remain apart from all dharmas, and does not grasp at any dharma—this is freedom. This bodhisattva can also observe that the true minds of all sentient beings originally exist, are not produced by any external condition, and can exist independently without depending on any external condition. The true mind is inherently free; when the deluded mind does not attach to marks and does not grasp, it is not defiled by any dharma, and it too is free.

When this level of freedom is attained, the bodhisattva's five-aggregate body can come and go at will throughout the buddha-lands of the ten directions, and all physical bodies can manifest according to conditions—this is freedom, and freedom of the highest order. To be able to manifest an entire trichiliocosm (great thousand worlds) at will, without any deliberate preparation or effort—what freedom that is! The prerequisite is that one must have realized this free mind—the eighth consciousness, the Ālayavijñāna. This bodhisattva can manifest limitless supernatural powers: whatever body is needed to liberate beings, he manifests that very body and preaches the Dharma to them; the physical bodies of the four noble ones and the six ordinary beings can be manifested at will—this is great freedom. The prerequisite is that one must have practiced the profound prajñā-pāramitā, attained the profound prajñā wisdom, and gained freedom of mind.