Ven. Acariya Mun - Spiritual Biography + photos

the conditions of anicca, dukkha and anattã, which infiltrate the citta,
actually disappear.
No matter how subtle the kilesas may be, they are still condi-
tioned by anicca, dukkha, and anattã, and therefore, must be conven-
tional phenomena. Once these things have completely disintegrated,
the true citta, the one that has transcended conventional reality,
becomes fully apparent. This is called the citta’s Absolute Freedom,
or the citta’s Absolute Purity. All connections continuing from the
citta’s previous condition have been severed forever. Now utterly pure,
the citta’s essential knowing nature remains alone on its own.
We cannot say where in the body this essential knowing nature
is centered. Previously, with the conventional citta, it formed a promi-
nent point that we could clearly see and know. For example, in samãdhi
we knew that it was centered in the middle of the chest because the
knowing quality of our awareness stood out prominently there. The
calm, the brightness, and the radiance appeared to emanate conspic-
uously from that point. We could see this for ourselves. All meditators
whose level of calm has reached the very base of samãdhi realize that
the center of “what knows” stands out prominently in the region of the
heart. They will not argue that it is centered in the brain, as those who
have no experience in the practice of samãdhi are always claiming.
But when the same citta has been cleansed until it is pure, that
center then disappears. One can no longer say that the citta is located
above or below, or that it is situated at any specific point in the body.
It is now pure awareness, a knowing quality that is so subtle and
refined that it transcends all conventional designations whatsoever.
Still, in saying that it is “exceedingly refined”, we are obliged to use a
conventional figure of speech that cannot possibly express the truth;
for, of course, the notion of extreme refinement is itself a convention.
Since this refined awareness does not have a point or a center, it is
impossible to specifically locate its position. There is only that essen-
tial knowing, with absolutely nothing infiltrating it. Although it still