By Victor M Fontane
The so-called enlightenment or nirvana, is simply the present mind residing in the “Pure Land”, free from the three poisons (trivisa) born of dualistic judgment. It neither clings to past joys or sorrows, nor grasps onto desires arising from the "I". When impermanent “karma” arrives, one departs this world naturally, without attachment.
Just as Bodhidharma and the Buddha in the “Śūraṅgama Sūtra” questioned the Sangha about the location of the mind, they all pointed in the same direction: the mind is found in the observation of observation itself, dismantling the clinging to the "I," realizing the emptiness (śūnyatā) and non-abiding (animitta) nature of mind. Because “karma” is without self-nature (anātman) and impermanent (anitya), consciousness does not cling to form or body; thus is the contemplation.
Similarly, sudden awakening (satori) and “nirvana*” are not substantively different from the question of the mind's location. "Sudden awakening" and "nirvana" are neither truly existent nor non-existent; they are simply compassion (karuṇā) transcending all human definitions of good and evil, sentient and insentient concepts, and dualistic opposition.
Because each individual's “karma” differs from beginning-less time (anadi), their understanding of enlightenment varies. We are not trapped in “samsara” by “karma” itself, but rather by our passionate attachment to the three poisons. This attachment sows further “karma”in the “alaya-vijnana” (storehouse consciousness). Observing human development, we see how differing definitions and understandings of compassion have arisen, leading to an unbalanced world. This is a consequence of the Buddha's passing (parinirvana), for the Buddha embodied non-dual (advaya) compassion, undefinable even in terms of existence or non-existence.
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