What Is the Mindset of a Liberated Person?

Liberation means having eradicated afflictions, with the mind empty of self, neither grasping nor clinging to the five aggregates and the eighteen realms—not grasping the aggregate of form, not grasping the aggregate of feeling, not grasping the aggregate of perception, not grasping the aggregate of volitional formations, not grasping the aggregate of consciousness, not grasping forms, not grasping sounds, not grasping odors, not grasping flavors, not grasping tangibles, not grasping dharmas, not grasping wealth, sensual pleasure, fame, food, or sleep, not grasping fame and gain, not coveting worldly dharmas, responding to things according to conditions, without a utilitarian mind, without a calculating mind, seeking no reward, and not acting for power or reputation. Neither fawning on the powerful nor being arrogant and self-important; neither competing for show and seizing by force nor delighting in displaying oneself; neither deceiving and cheating others nor scheming with cunning—for all dharmas one applies the mind to nothing. Because the world of the five aggregates is ultimately empty, there is nothing that binds, nothing that obstructs; whether one grasps or does not grasp, nothing can be obtained—shackles do not attach to the mind, and one is free and unimpeded.