Toh 2272Mental Non-Engagement with regard to Exalted Body, Speech, and Mind

An Exposition of the Treatise “Mental Non-Engagement with Regard to Exalted Body, Speech, and Mind”

Context

This treatise belongs to the Tengyur (the Tibetan Translation of the Treatises) of the Tibetan Mahayana tradition, which preserves profound expositions and commentaries on the Dharma by Buddhist masters. Within the context of Mahayana practice, especially in the approach to Sangha practice encouraged by Tibetan teachers, this treatise points toward an advanced understanding of the nature of “Exalted Body, Speech, and Mind” (Kāyavākcittā)—the three aspects through which enlightenment is manifested.

According to the Mahayana tradition, particularly Tibetan Buddhism, a Buddha or bodhisattva possesses “exalted body, exalted speech, and exalted mind”—that is, the three aspects of the activity of a perfectly enlightened being. This treatise teaches that, in order truly to encounter the profound nature of these aspects, we must practice “non-engagement of mind” in the ordinary manner—not apprehending or conceiving of them as independently existing realities.

Main Content

Here, “non-engagement of mind” (amanasikāra) does not mean unconsciousness or denial, but rather a lucid contemplation of the absence of intrinsic nature (śūnyatā) in all phenomena. When we contemplate the Exalted Body of a Buddha or bodhisattva, we must go beyond the habitual thought: “This is a truly and independently existing object endowed with permanent characteristics.”

Likewise, Exalted Speech—the teachings and the sounds that are uttered—does not consist of signs possessing fixed and immutable meanings. It is always responsive to the disposition of the listener, varies according to context, and is devoid of inherent nature.

And Exalted Mind—the knowing wisdom of a Buddha—is likewise not a consciousness with clearly defined boundaries that can be apprehended. It is the perfect integration of human existence, selflessness, and the consummate state of enlightenment.

The treatise teaches that by means of “non-engagement of mind”