- an awareness that seems to blanket the entire cosmos – absolutely
nothing else appears. For unlike a beam of light, whose range is lim-
ited, reaching either near or far depending on the strength of the light,
the flow of the citta has no limits, no “near” or “far”. For instance, the
brightness of an electric light depends on its wattage. If the wattage
is high, it shines a long distance; if low, a short distance. But the flow
of the citta is very different. Distance is not a factor. To be precise,
the citta is beyond the conditions of time and space, which allows it
to blanket everything. Far is like near, for concepts of space do not
apply. All that appears is a very refined awareness suffusing every-
thing throughout the entire universe. The whole world seems to be
filled by this subtle quality of knowing, as though nothing else exists,
though things still exist in the world as they always have. The all-
encompassing flow of the citta that has been cleansed of the things
that cloud and obscure it, this is the citta’s true power.
The citta that is absolutely pure is even more difficult to describe.
Since it is something that defies definition, I don’t know how I could
characterize it. It cannot be expressed in the same way that conven-
tional things in general can be, simply because it is not a conventional
phenomenon. It is the sole province of those who have transcended all
aspects of conventional reality, and thus realize within themselves that
non-conventional nature. For this reason, words cannot describe it.
Why do we speak of a “conventional” citta and an “absolutely pure”
citta? Are they actually two different cittas? Not at all. It remains the
same citta. When it is controlled by conventional realities, such as
kilesas and ãsavas, that is one condition of the citta. But when the fac-
ulty of wisdom has scrubbed it clean until this condition has totally
disintegrated, the true citta, the true Dhamma, the one that can
stand the test, will not disintegrate and disappear along with it. Only
