It seems appropriate to look at the nature of our imprisonment by afflictive emotions on Independence Day. Nagarjuna writes:
Do the mental afflictions bind?
They do not bind one already afflicted,
And they do not bind one who is not afflicted,
So when do they have the opportunity to bind anyone?
If one is already trapped in ignorance, already afflicted, they how could one become afflicted anew? If one is not afflicted, like the buddhas, then how could one become afflicted? In our own experience, we have moments of liberation and moments of what we take to be affliction. It seems that Nagarjuna is encouraging us to look carefully at the moments where we think we're trapped. What changed between those moments and the moments of liberation? How are these moments different in true nature? When did the affliction begin? At what exact moment? How is it that our perspective can change so suddenly?
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