The night means no mind and no consciousness. The mind rests on consciousness, and diversifies it into myriad things. But the night is beyond consciousness, beyond mind. The night is absolute annihilation, which is our truest nature. How can it be that all this splendor arises out of absolute annihilation, total nonbeing? It’s like a magic trick. You see, this nature that is our ultimate truth is a strange kind of guest. This guest will not come unless you are a perfect host. A perfect host keeps the house absolutely empty and clean. The house is clarified and purified to be fit only for the guest. You realize that your heart, which is the feeling of the consciousness from which everything arises, is really the house of the guest. The guest ultimately resides in the heart. The heart exists only to serve as the abode for the guest. The guest is very jealous and will not show up if there is the slightest other thing in the heart, if there is the slightest movement toward anything else. The heart is completely clarified when there is absolute detachment, when it is completely empty, totally divested of its other occupants. Then the guest arrives.