Usually when people reach this stage they feel they have attained the ultimate, that they have been liberated, like the Buddha, from the cycle of birth and death. This is very good. But if you stop here, there will still be a thought dwelling in your mind. That thought is the idea of enlightenment itself, the feeling that you have had the great awakening. You are dwelling in emptiness.

To get beyond this barrier, we have to go to the fourth and ultimate barrier shattering emptiness itself. In the state of emptiness, one feels that everything exists without obstruction. That is the meaning of emptiness. The meaning of shattering emptiness is dissolving even the enlightened state. You give up the feeling that you've had the great awakening. You will feel ordinary again. I tell you all only then will you sleep the dreamless sleep, only then will you be truly liberated.

According to the course of progress of Hinayana, you have tasted the fruit of Arhatship. But you still must cultivate, continue practicing, because you still may fall back. You are thinking, "How can we do all this? It sounds so remote." On the other hand, if I were to tell you that passing the first barrier amounts to great liberation, I would be deceiving you. If you have any doubts, practice hard, and let your doubts grow to the size of a mountain. Remember, small doubt leads to small awakening, great doubt leads to great awakening.