One of the images used in some Tibetan texts is that of water and ice. Water
is used as an image for the awareness that is the nature of mind (although
as an image water is still too much of a thing). Ice is the mind that’s
solidified in one way or another. Great care is needed in distinguishing
between water and ice, because sometimes what we thought was water turns out
to be slush – there’s a little bit of ice in there. And yet at the same time
– and this is what’s so interesting – the nature of ice is water. The nature
is the same, though it’s not manifesting in the same way. This is another
way of saying that even the hindrances of mind like desire, fear, or doubt
are themselves essentially selfless and insubstantial.
Joseph Goldstein, “How Amazing!” (Summer 1999)