A. It is not because it doesn’t appear before us but because you can’t recognise it that you can’t see it. It always reveals itself before you even at this moment when you read this writing, not to mention when you attend retreats. You can’t see it because it is covered with a multitude of various shapes of things and can’t hear it because it is covered with countless fancy and plausible words.
What you have to keep in mind is that when you read Buddhist literature such as the sutras and records of ancient masters, or listen to Dharma talks, you should read and listen beyond words. In Buddhism a Dharma talk refers not to remarks or texts but to a gate. Even if you are content with intellectual understanding of each word you read and listen to, you have failed to understand what you read or listened to if you have not attained enlightenment, that is, you have not passed the gate. This is why some ancient masters would say that all the sutras are only Mara’s talks if we are deluded by words without grasping the core.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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