Once again Karmapa points to the limitless space of experience that is beyond contradiction. Everything is mind, whether or not it can be comprehended through thoughts or imagination. From continually new angles, he elucidates that whoever rests in his own essence already has everything. Whoever is not stuck in tomorrow or yesterday has every insight and will express meaningful, self-arisen activity. Over time, no ego can withstand the growing certainty that one can trust space, that all is in essence true and fulfills itself effortlessly. Thus the realm of the self disintegrates, and mind's spontaneous qualities appear naturally as enlightenment. As with several earlier verses, Karmapa again mentions the object perceived before the space that perceives; he places mind's joyful expression ahead of the truth-level from which it springs.

"Appearance" indicates mind's clarity, its richness and versatility. No matter how real experiences may seem to be, there is nothing that can stay. Everything is conditioned and composite, whether observed from inside or out. In the same way that every act of perception returns to space, so too the material universe itself is like the former Bank of Italy. The non-existence of one lira also meant that billions of liras were an illusion. Similarly, the seemingly solid universe has no fundamental and timeless particle from which it arose. In a particle accelerator or a cyclotron, matter can be made to disappear. This is one sign that the world is not fixed or truly existent, and one day it will probably be possible to prove that it has the characteristics of the collective dream described in an earlier chapter.

"Emptiness" characterizes mind's space-essence, its timeless basis. The term points to the experiencer and its potential, to that which may happen. Its width enables it to contain all possibilities. No karma or other stored impressions can limit it. It is, was, and will always be free.

"Realization is mind." Here the words describe the condition where mind knows its own essence, where mind's eye looks into the mirror and frees itself. It is the state where it becomes conscious of the ocean underneath the waves, and the experiencer recognizes itself as timeless, clear light. At this moment, mind's unobstructed qualities radiate forth. Undisturbed by outer influences or inner concepts, they will constantly make it clear that enlightenment is nothing but mind's realization of its emptiness, clarity and unlimited essence.

The term "delusion" represents the mental states before mind recognizes its absolute qualities. Here the timeless mirror is not seen but only its images. Whoever lives without the absolute refuge of aware and compassionate space will consider transient experiences as well as one's own ideas to be real, and will waver as they come and go. In that situation, one is like an eye that only notices the impressions it receives but is unaware of itself. Because all things continually change, depending on the ripening of our own and collective karmas, this is not a recipe for finding anything of a lasting nature. Though one only reaps what one has sown oneself through body, speech and mind, the results ripen at uncertain times and carry over from life to life. It is for this reason that people often consider life unjust and remain confused.

"Arising" expresses mind's free play, the expression of its abilities. This power is used in mind-expanding ways during the building-up phase of the Diamond Way meditations, from the point where the Buddha is invoked, and one wishes to obtain his qualities. From such levels of beyond-personal purity, known as kye rim, or the birth of the buddha aspect, one's arrival at the state of truth is much easier than attempting the steps from beings' everyday emotional consciousness.

"Ceasing" means the self-liberating return to space of phenomena and perceptions. If one can remain aware during this process without being dependent on outer or inner support structures, this is all-pervading insight. In Diamond Way meditations this is accomplished through a successful completion phase, during which the Buddha or lama meditated upon melts together with the practitioner and an identification of body, speech and mind takes place. The ensuing experience of radiating timeless space is called dzog rim or the state of perfection. One should only practice this for as long as mind is radiant like a diamond. If it becomes dull like a white wall, one must stop immediately. Otherwise, one will lose one's fangs and become unable to act decisively.

2550 years ago, Buddha clarified the ultimate nature of things in what is today a well-known quotation: "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form, form and emptiness are inseparable." This highest teaching existed during the first fifteen hundred years in northern India under the name of Maha-Mudra, Maha-Ati or Maha-Madhyamaka, until the Muslims destroyed that civilization. Then, one thousand years ago, the instructions, now under the names of Chag Chen, Dzog Chen or Uma Chenpo were brought to Tibet by the hero Marpa and others. Today the idealistic and educated Western world is uniquely capable of holding this level of awareness that has now, in the Kagyu lineage, been translated into "The Great Seal." It seeks the realization that experiencer and experience, space and phenomena, arise dependently but at the same time have no nature or lasting characteristics of their own, and that mind's unlimited qualities make everything possible. These factors, which should be evident also in daily life when one has been made aware of them, are complementary aspects of the essential state. They unite fearless truth with self-arisen joy and the powerful compassionate actions that come from honest forward thinking. They are like humidity, clouds, and rain: all essentially water.

In the awareness-field of the accomplishers, beyond "any mistaken affirmation or denial," mind constantly and effortlessly unfolds its qualities. Nothing could be more noble than that. Therefore, Karmapa repeatedly underlines the fact that mind is the source of everything. In its essence, it is self-arisen enlightenment, a state that was always inherent in it. Whatever manifests inside or out appears from the space of mind, unfolds there, is known through its awareness, and dissolves back into its boundlessness. Karmapa advises us to utilize this process without hesitation on the level of practical living, benefiting beings with a relaxed confidence in the indestructible and essential perfection of what acts and experienes.

This certainty of mind's essence, which is in principle faultless, is the basis for true greatness. The insight that beneath the wildest surf, or behind the most exciting images, the timeless power of the ocean and the mirror are even more meaningful and radiant remains the guiding light for the three old or "Red Hat" schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Their way works toward the experience of space and joy as inseparable-the so-called shentong view-through enlightened feedback systems for body, speech and mind. Because of these highly effective methods of meditation and the necessary bond to one's experienced lama, they can press countless buttons in people's store-consciousness. A few years meditating on the buddha forms with this disposition bring about changes that would have taken many lives if one had only studied or thought that space was simply neutral. Because the Diamond Way activates beings' totality and harnesses feelings, urges, instincts and dreams in the process, the robustly joyful and much sought after complete human maturity develops quickly. Thus mind's timeless essence is experienced, and one deeply knows what is behind and between thoughts, what the basis of all things brings forth and can do. With an indestructible feeling of bliss, one here discovers that mind is totally free. It can be conscious without needing an object, just resting in itself; the perfect qualities of what experiences can in no way be removed. Whoever can obtain and skillfully benefit from a teacher and teachings that make such experiences possible should celebrate. In the long run, their happiness will only increase!

How then can one "cut through any mistaken affirmation or denial" that steals the freshness of the immediate experience? Buddha calls for an attack on sleepiness and habits that engages our outer, inner and secret qualities. In short, it means to outwardly avoid what harms others and inwardly to develop a rich treasure of compassion and wisdom. On the secret and ultimate level of view, he tells us to have the courage to behave like him.

A meaningful Buddhist life would imply being aware on these three levels simultaneously and, where possible, to work from the highest point of view. Knowing the moment of original freshness to be true, the first of an exciting insight should not be assessed, intellectualized or evaluated. Although this may not be easy-coming from cultures that operate with sin, the will of gods, and other similar concepts that destroy beings' immediate confidence in the moment of experience-one should leave the radiant newness of every reasonable event undisturbed and simply be. While on the Diamond Way, the state of immediate, unfiltered awareness is gradually made to stay without constraint. At the same time, however, one is aware of one's remaining karmic conditioning, the limitations of one's senses, local customs and mental habits. Therefore, one uses mind's knowledge and freedom to harmonize what happened or was seen with the absolute teachings on the nature of things. In this way, relative and absolute levels of awareness are made to supplement and enhance one another for the benefit of many.

Thus the timeless radiance of the moment must not fade while the conditioned world is freely enjoyed. From the depth of one's heart, one enjoys the rich variety of self-arisen events. Experienced from this level, each of these is of deep meaning and manifests the potential of space. It is then one's commitment, however, to simultaneously carry the toolbox of worldly wisdoms at one's side. One is now responsible for improving the conditioned world as durably as possible from the position of a meaningful and liberated point of view. As long as beings mistakenly take their changing situations to be real and experience conditioned happiness and suffering through them, this approach is important. As mentioned previously, doing useful things and avoiding harmful actions in one's life is only sensible. Although mind is in essence timeless, and everything manifesting is impermanent, one can still wake up from a good dream into liberation and enlightenment. Whoever fills mind with negative actions, words and motivation, however, will find mind equally amazing in its ability to produce more and more pain.

Nothing is more true than the unaffected stream of naked richness experienced by a fearless mind. It contains all love and adventures. Here, separation, past and future, dissolve in the moment of feeling the power of what is possible. When one is certain of observing things with a minimum of disturbing feelings, statements like "first thought-best thought," or rather "first intuition-best intuition," become meaningful. This is because thoughts entail a partial transformation of one's experience and forces happiness to have a certain distance to a situation.

Buddha's teaching is simply the way things are-without dogmas or any other form of coercion. Therefore, intelligent doubt and critical observation help massively toward its realization. Through investigation, one comprehends life on more and more levels. In addition, proven facts sharpen the tools of the teachings and enable them to encompass any event. This makes it easy to help others later. If nothing remains unresolved, then the development of students is not disturbed by unclear statements or information that cannot be verified.

For self-reliant people who want to live without divine supervision, difficulties with Buddhism mainly appear from a lack of knowledge. One must have either learned too little or too partially, or tried to incorporate things that did not fit one's capacity. On each level, the goal of Buddha's teachings is always the same: his students should not believe, but know. He gave instructions for people to become independent, and, if possible, enlightened. One's awareness of what is absolute or remains relative will translate into fearless, exciting and kind forms of activity.

For this reason, everything stilted and artificial misses the point. Such behavior limits awareness and strength. Every spontaneously arising insight, however, is a fleeting glance at enlightenment and sets one free. Therefore one may use and enjoy relative thoughts, but they should not be considered too real. If they set in motion processes of hope and fear, one is deeply in the conditioned world. Outside the feeling that we truly grow and develop, there exists nothing completely satisfactory. Whoever does not trust space here and now may hardly ever notice the self-liberating potential that constantly manifests in the situations of one's life.

Being the boundless moment of awareness—and no alternative way to enlightenment ever existed—makes it possible to experience all things from one's center. Thus one knows beyond any doubt that space is information, bliss and active compassion, and that it timelessly encompasses and unites all things.