Part 5
“Subhuti, what do you think—is it possible to see me, the Realised One in terms of physical characteristics?”
“No, World Honoured One; it is not possible to see you, the Realised One in terms of physical characteristics.”
“Why? Because physical characteristics explained by you, the Realised One are not physical characteristics.”
Commentary:
This paragraph shows how we can see the real Buddha, the true-Self. The historical Buddha tells us not to seek the essence of his being, the true-Self by seeing his physical characteristics; 32 primary features and 80 associated secondary features of the Buddha that he had mentioned before, because they are just kinds of forms, illusions. Regarding such physical characteristics as the real Buddha is dwelling on forms, being deluded by illusions. This is against the core of the Buddha’s teaching that we should not dwell on any forms.
However, not to dwell on physical characteristics doesn’t mean to ignore them. We should know that the true-Self is hidden in forms, physical characteristics. This is why they are called the store of the true-Self, which means that we should be able to discern the real Buddha hidden in physical characteristics by ceasing to dwell on them.
Student: “Why did the historical Buddha say that the Buddha has 32 primary features and 80 associated secondary features?”
Master: “One man told a lie, and ten thousand men heard the truth.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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