user19424: Is the Mind [essentially] bound to ignorance "not-knowing" or free?
If it is bound, then its essential nature of "non-knowing" cannot depart, and, therefore, liberation is not [possible, or] if the essential nature departed, the mind would cease to be a Mind, i,e. it can no longer not-know.
If it is free, the meditation and other means enjoined for the sake of liberation are of no use.

user14789: Don't get infatuated with the word "essence" and "essential". Some people talk about "the essence of the mind" and try to make the mind the ultimate reality. What matters is that the mind is the chief of sukha or dukkha -- bad births and good births -- like in the Dhammapada:


Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox.
Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts happiness follows him like his never-departing shadow.


And you still have to "do" the non-bright and non-dark karma, to get fully enlightened.
All this means is that you do have to work on your mind, on your actions through speech, body and thoughts -- to get a good births and/or be fully enlightened -- (not doing rituals or clinging to sensual objects).

user2282: 
Is the Mind [essentially] bound to ignorance "not-knowing" or free?
If it is bound, then its essential nature of "non-knowing" cannot depart, and, therefore, liberation is not [possible, or] if the essential nature departed, the mind would cease to be a Mind, i,e. it can no longer not-know.

There's no issue here since the premise was wrong to begin with. Yes, to unenlightened beings, the mind is pretty much bound to ignorance, but it has nothing to do with the "essential nature" of things here. The only inherent/essential nature of conditioned phenomena is the Three Marks: Anicca, Dukkha, and Anatta. And since it's exactly because of Anicca, even Ignorance and Dukkha are not permanent, hence there's always the possibility for total final liberation to take place, if one so chooses.

19424: <p>Is the Mind [essentially] bound to ignorance &quot;not-knowing&quot; or free?</p>
<p>If it is bound, then its essential nature of &quot;non-knowing&quot; cannot depart, and, therefore, liberation is not [possible, or] if the essential nature departed, the mind would cease to be a Mind, i,e. it can no longer not-know.</p>
<p>If it is free, the meditation and other means enjoined for the sake of liberation are of no use.</p>
 14789: <p>Don't get infatuated with the word &quot;essence&quot; and &quot;essential&quot;. Some people talk about &quot;the essence of the mind&quot; and try to make the mind the ultimate reality. What matters is that the mind is the chief of sukha or dukkha -- bad births and good births -- like in <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.01.budd.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the Dhammapada</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<ol>
<li>Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox.</li>
<li>Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts happiness follows him like his never-departing shadow.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<p>And you still have to &quot;do&quot; the non-bright and non-dark karma, to get fully enlightened.</p>
<p>All this means is that you do have to work on your mind, on your actions through speech, body and thoughts -- to get a good births and/or be fully enlightened -- (not doing rituals or clinging to sensual objects).</p>
 2282: <blockquote>
<p>Is the Mind [essentially] bound to ignorance &quot;not-knowing&quot; or free?
If it is bound, then its essential nature of &quot;non-knowing&quot; cannot depart, and, therefore, liberation is not [possible, or] if the essential nature departed, the mind would cease to be a Mind, i,e. it can no longer not-know.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There's no issue here since the premise was wrong to begin with. Yes, to unenlightened beings, the mind is pretty much bound to ignorance, but it has nothing to do with the &quot;essential nature&quot; of things here. The only inherent/essential nature of conditioned phenomena is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_marks_of_existence" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Three Marks</a>: Anicca, Dukkha, and Anatta. And since it's exactly because of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impermanence" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Anicca</a>, even Ignorance and Dukkha are not permanent, hence there's always the possibility for total final liberation to take place, if one so chooses.</p>
