What spiritual state is it when one seeks nothing and one's character is naturally noble?

When a person has no seeking—meaning they do not deliberately pursue any dharma, do not devise ways to obtain things, and do not apply their mind to anything—that is nonaction (wu-wei). A person whose mind is in a state of nonaction will not resort to any means to scheme for anything; even for legitimate matters, they will not deliberately strive and contend to obtain them, let alone engage in illegitimate matters using improper means—that is something they simply would not do. In this way, they do not contend with others over anything, are without strife with the world, and do not contend over affairs; having no mind of contention, they even less have minds of seizing, deceiving, or stealing. With no seeking in any matter, they pass their days in accordance with conditions. Such a person's moral character is exceedingly noble, and their state of mind is one of complete self-forgetfulness.

An ordinary person can only achieve this occasionally, and only with regard to some particular matter. But if a person can consistently act this way, with their mental conduct always so pure and detached, without desire and without seeking, then such a person is no longer an ordinary person. What kind of person would that be? Certainly one who has eradicated the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi), with no self in their mind—and moreover, not one of the ordinary srotāpanna or sakṛdāgāmin who have merely eradicated the view of self, but certainly an anāgāmin or arhat of the third or fourth fruit who has eliminated afflictions. Of course, all arhats have noble character, and their virtuous cultivation is foremost among humans, even surpassing that of devas; they are teachers of humans and devas, worthy of offerings from humans and devas.

If such an arhat can further perform many deeds that benefit sentient beings, deeply harboring the vow to deliver sentient beings, constantly thinking of the suffering of beings, and profoundly wishing to help sentient beings transcend their suffering, then this arhat is a bodhisattva-mahāsattva, from the first to the eighth bhūmi. Of course, before the eighth bhūmi, a bodhisattva's mind cannot yet be in a state of nonaction at every moment, acting naturally and in accord with conditions, nor can they be without desire and seeking at all times, for there is still the influence of afflictive habits. Only the mind of a bodhisattva at the eighth bhūmi or above is in a state of nonaction at every moment, functioning spontaneously and naturally without deliberate contrivance, with mind empty and dharmas empty, possessing extremely deep meditative concentration (samādhi) and extremely deep wisdom, able to forever accord with conditions, naturally accomplishing the work of delivering sentient beings—neither grasping at self nor grasping at dharmas.

Therefore, everyone's moral character is related to their level of cultivation and realization. The higher one's cultivation and realization, the emptier the mind; the emptier the mind, the greater the capacity of the mind, the more nonaction, and the nobler the character. The results of cultivation and realization are all manifested within worldly dharmas; one's mental conduct of nonaction is also expressed within worldly dharmas, expressed in the process of delivering sentient beings, and expressed in the carrying out of all endeavors. Therefore, whether a person has cultivation and realization, whether they possess the Path—someone with wisdom can observe and verify this simply by observing their bodily, verbal, and mental actions.