Do you not know that he who is right now listening to the Dharma is the true-Self? How would you attain and make it majestic by practising? It is neither what can be attained by practising nor what can be made majestic. Moreover, if it would be exalted, then everything could be exalted. Do not be deceived.
Commentary:
He who is right now listening to this talk is none other than the true-Self you are struggling to find. In fact, you not only need not but also cannot attain the true-Self because it is none other than you yourself. That is why ancient masters would say, “The true-Self is neither what can be attained nor what can be lost. If you think you attained it, it is not the true-Self but just an illusion of it.” Trying to approach it is like making futile effort to approach yourself. It follows that the harder you try to approach yourself, the further you become from realising what yourself is.
The true-Self is perfection itself. If someone tries to make it majestic or more beautiful, he will defile it rather than make it so, since ‘majestic’ or ‘beautiful’ is a kind of illusion. That is why an ancient master said, “Don’t soil it with ‘pure’,” when he was asked, “How can I keep it pure?” ‘If it would be exalted, then everything could be exalted’ means that everything we see and hear is no other than the true-Self that cannot be exalted.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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