The Abandonment of the Attitudes of the Disciples and Hermit Sages

1. Why the Spiritual Genius Is Unharmed by Extreme Suffering but Harmed by Narrow Views

A spiritual genius can descend even into the hell realms for the sake of beings,
and the most terrible torments do not harm her in the slightest.
Why? Because suffering that is willingly embraced for compassion’s sake
cannot wound a mind that moves freely within the ultimate realm.
Pain cannot corrupt one whose wisdom has no foothold for fear.

Yet—even such a being can be harmed
by the subtle, seemingly virtuous discriminations
that characterize the attitudes of the individual vehicle.
Distinctions such as
“peace is excellent, existence is evil,”
or “withdrawal is purity while engagement is defilement,”
become obstacles.
They bind the mind to a limited horizon,
turning relative calm into a cage
and mistaking escape for liberation.

Thus the fiercest flames cannot touch the spiritual genius,
but a narrow view disguised as virtue can hinder her path.

2. Why Even Bliss Can Become an Obstruction

Not even ages spent in hell—
not even uninterrupted exposure to agony—
can obstruct the impeccable, sovereign enlightenment
of a spiritual genius.
Compassion shields the mind;
wisdom transforms suffering into fuel.

But the attitudes cultivated in the individual vehicle
do obstruct the path.
The ideal of a self-benefiting “supreme coolness,”
the longing for a personal peace that withdraws from the world,
the belief that the highest goal is one’s own cessation—
these cause interference,
even when the practitioner dwells in a state of exalted bliss.

Because true awakening for the spiritual genius
cannot coexist with self-centered peace.
It is not achieved by fleeing the world
but by transforming the world’s suffering through wisdom.

Thus, bliss can obstruct where hell cannot.
Misguided purity can hinder where flames cannot.
A flawless enlightenment cannot be touched by torment,
yet it can be delayed by the quiet comfort
of a narrow aspiration.