A. When it is said that everything is empty, or when we see everything as it is without being deluded by illusions, imaginary lines, everything is the Buddha. If everything around us is the Buddha, where we are at this moment must be the Buddha Land. However, when our minds are contaminated with three poisons; greed, anger and ignorance, we cannot see the Buddha Land as pure as it really is because they cause us to be deluded by illusions. This leads us to fail to recognise the Buddha Land whilst already being there and to wander about in search of it possessed with an image of a pure and perfect place although we have never left it. It is not because the Buddha Land is really dirty but because we cannot see the Buddha Land as it is due to the illusions caused by the three poisons in our minds that it appears to be dirty.
Student: “How can I remove the three poisons?”
Master: “They are the Buddha as well.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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