Part 6-5
For this reason, I, the Realised One always say you should know that my Dharma teaching is like a raft. Even the Dharma should be discarded, not to mention the non-Dharma.
Commentary:
The Buddha is saying that we should not be attached to even his Dharma teaching not to mention the non-Dharma, both because it is also empty and because it is just an expedient means which the Buddha used to show the true-Self to sentient beings, like a raft which is discarded when its use of helping people to cross a river is over. The reality, however, is that we, instead of seeing what the Buddha means to show to us with his Dharma teaching, tend to treat his Dharma teaching itself as a precious treasure. This is just like cherishing a raft, looking at it and keeping it well without using it to cross the river. Ancient masters would liken this situation to only seeing the finger pointing to the moon instead of seeing the moon.
No matter how plausible certain words may sound, no matter how holy an image may appear, we should not be deluded by them. This is why ancient masters would say that we should kill the Buddha if we encounter him and regard the Buddha’s and patriarchs’ words as an enemy. This implies that we shouldn’t be deluded even by the image of the Buddha and his Dharma talk, let alone the non-Dharma.
Student: “What should we accept if we should discard the Buddha’s Dharma talks?”
Master: “What can be accepted or discarded is not what is truly valuable.”
Student: “What is it that can be neither accepted nor discarded?”
Master: “It is what is left behind when all that can be discarded is discarded.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Zen Fools 