ABSTRACT
As mentioned before, the Non-Obstruction of Dharmadhātu is made possible by the principles of mutual penetration and mutual identity. By approximation, we can picture mutual penetration as the co-arising of multiplex events in various dimensions within a given object, or we can imagine it as many rays of light from different lamps overlapping and interpenetrating simultaneously. But no amount of groping, fumbling, or approximation can bring us closer to a complete understanding of mutual identity. The impossibility of drawing even a fictive picture of mutual identity is clear enough to reflect the insurmountable difficulty of this whole problem. The main reason for this difficulty is that the great majority of men have never had such a first-hand experience. Man lives in a world of distinctions, not of mutual identity. His mind is predominantly—if not entirely—directed towards distinct objects and their relationships. There is therefore no way for him even to think about mutual identity, a principle of which he has no direct experience.
