An Exposition on the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara's Dharma Gate of Perfect Penetration through the Ear Faculty

(2) "What enters is thereby stilled." The conscious mind turns inward and flows back, falling to the place where sound arises; yet at that place of arising, there is no sound, no clamor—it is silent. First, in terms of principle, the tathāgatagarbha is silent and still; second, the state within meditative concentration (samādhi) is silent and still, without the sense object of sound. This is having both principle and phenomenon, with principle and phenomenon perfectly fused.

"The two marks of movement and stillness are clearly not arising." First, this refers to principle: after entering samādhi, one observes that the tathāgatagarbha fundamentally does not possess the two marks of movement and stillness—it belongs neither to movement nor to stillness, having no two sense-object marks of sound in movement and stillness, and is therefore silent. Second, this refers to phenomenon—meditative concentration: within this state of meditative concentration, there are no two marks of movement and stillness; one neither knows the mark of movement nor knows the mark of stillness. This is entering a state of concentration at the second dhyāna or above. With no five sense consciousnesses present, the ear consciousness does not manifest, and so one cannot hear the two sense objects of sound—movement and stillness. It is said that movement and stillness are clearly not arising, but in actuality the two marks of movement and stillness do exist; it is only that there is no ear consciousness to discern them, and the mind consciousness cannot discern them on its own. Therefore it is said that in states of concentration at the second dhyāna and above, the two marks of movement and stillness are clearly not arising.

"Thus gradually increasing, hearing and what is heard are exhausted." First, this refers to the wisdom state in terms of principle gradually deepening; second, it refers to the state of meditative concentration in terms of phenomenon gradually deepening. After the wisdom state in terms of principle advances, it becomes clear that the conscious mind-self that can hear the sense object of sound is the nature of the tathāgatagarbha, and there is no true conscious mind-self that hears the sense object of sound. At the same time, it also becomes clear that the heard sense object of sound is likewise the nature of the tathāgatagarbha, transformed by the tathāgatagarbha, and there is no true sense object of sound. In this way, the mind no longer has the obstruction of perceiver (conscious mind) and perceived (sense object of sound); the sense of reality of the hearer and the heard is extinguished, and the mind becomes empty and pure. After the state of meditative concentration in terms of phenomenon advances, the ear consciousness that hears ceases, the heard sense object of sound ceases, and one enters a profound state of meditative concentration at the second dhyāna or above.

"When hearing is exhausted, one does not dwell there." Although by this point, both in terms of principle and in terms of practical cultivation, the hearer and the heard have both been extinguished, Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva's state of wisdom and state of meditative concentration did not stop there; he did not linger at this point and halt his progress. Through deepening practice, he would further enter an even deeper samādhi.

"Awareness and what is aware are emptied." At the second dhyāna and above, the five sense consciousnesses no longer exist, and therefore one does not know the states of the five sense objects. But the mind consciousness still exists, and it too cannot discern the five sense objects on its own; it can only correspond to the mental sense objects of the concentration state. At this time the mind consciousness is extremely subtle, so much so that one can hardly perceive the existence of the six sense objects. However, after emerging from concentration, the mind consciousness will know that one had just entered the second dhyāna, will know that one entered a certain state of meditative concentration, and there will be mental joy—the mind is delighted, and the spirit is full. Since there is a mind consciousness in the states of the second dhyāna and above, the mind consciousness is the aware mind. At this point, in terms of principle, one recognizes that this aware mind consciousness is not real, has no actual dharma, is transformed by the tathāgatagarbha, and is the nature of the tathāgatagarbha. And the state of meditative concentration and the mental joy that are aware of are also without true reality; they are the nature of the tathāgatagarbha, transformed by the tathāgatagarbha.

In terms of phenomenon, the state of meditative concentration will advance from the second dhyāna to states at the fourth dhyāna and above, reaching purity of relinquishing and mindfulness; the mind consciousness has no deep, subtle awareness, emptying out the mind consciousness's capacity to be aware, and also emptying out the state of meditative concentration that is aware of, and one can enter the four formless attainments.

What has been discussed above is a rough understanding. Without having undergone actual practice and without experiential realization, it cannot actually guide students in their real practice; it serves only as rough reference material, in order to satisfy the requests of many people.