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Machik’s Complete Explanation
object. Make sickness and bad spirits the inner object to be severed. Make discursive thoughts and sensations the secret object to be severed. And make the three or five poisons the suchness object of severance, son. “Now, ‘controlling’ is like this. Outwardly, to control gods and demons, be without attachment and free of clinging. Inwardly, to control sickness and negative forces, be free of concepts of help and harm. Secretly, to control secret discursive thinking, be free of reference to good or bad. In suchness, to control everything, be free of the basis and root of mind. “Now for the exposition of the outer, inner, and secret evidence of severance.25 If you are not terrified no matter what frightening apparitions of gods and demons occur, it is the outer evidence of severance. If you know that whatever sickness, suffering, or afflictive emotion occurs is karma, it is the inner evidence of severance. If you have no aggravation when good, bad, or middling discursive thoughts occur, it is the secret evidence of severance. No matter what various external or internal desirable things occur, if you are free of ego-fixation it is the suchness evidence of severance. “Now for the exposition of the three levels of the evidence of success: excellent, middling, and least. For someone of least capacity, to remain peaceful and gentle in the face of various and sundry apparitions is the outer evidence of success. To be given various spiritual powers when any faithful and respectful gods and demons arise is the inner evidence of success. To be mentally and physically well once sickness, bad spirits (gdon ), and thoughts are pacified in equality is the secret evidence of success. And when, pained by love, compassion, and impermanence, you enter the Dharma with faith and renunciation, it is the suchness evidence of success. “For those of middling capacity, the outer evidence of success is to be free of panic no matter what fearful, terrible thing happens. The inner evidence of success is to be peaceful and undisturbed no matter what sickness, spirits, pain, or suffering occurs. The secret evidence of success is that whatever poisonous, afflictive emotion arises, it is liberated in its own ground. And the suchness evidence of success is to be free of the mentally fixating self [with regard to] the outer and inner eidence of uprisings that the mind grasps at. “For those of excellent faculty, the outer evidence of success is to overwhelm all the fearsome, vicious, evil apparitions. The inner evidence of success is to be free of inflation no matter what problems occur, like sickness, afflictive emotions, spirits, and so on. The secret evidence of success is that whatever unfavorable conditions and obstacles occur, they become supportive. The true