Water Analogy

Mind in its elemental form is said to be pristinely pure. Some might like to compare it to fully distilled water devoid of any adventitious malignant or benignant substances. Some would think it is pregnant with innate positive qualities, that is, comparable to pure water pregnant with rich precious minerals. But pure mind can become polluted. If the regnant pollutant is hatred, mind becomes indignant, oppugnant, and malignant. If the regnant pollutant is attachment, it becomes poignant. If the regnant pollutant is confusion or ignorance, mind becomes stagnant. A polluted mind become repugnant and malignant. But we also find several methods of purification: disinfection, distillation, sedimentation, sterilization, and so on. One approach is particularly noteworthy. According to one, mind has never been mind. It is as though we have all the while taken (virtual) “mirage-water” to be (actual) water. Gaining direct meditative insight into this reality is said to liberate one once and for all.