A. The true Buddha, the true-Self is formless, boundless and changeless and contains everything. Not only the historical Buddha but also all people are part of it. This is why it is said that everything is the Buddha. The historical Buddha tried to teach people how to see the Buddha that is free from birth and death and tried to show it to sentient beings through his physical body. That is why he said, “He who seeks to see me through voices and forms cannot see me.”
By this he didn’t mean that his body is not the true-Buddha but that we can’t see the true-Buddha if we confine his being only to his body, thinking that his body is different and separated from the rest, that is not his body. His physical body is to the true Buddha as a wave is to the sea. The true Buddha that the historical Buddha tried to show is before us all the time. In fact, it is more correct to say that we are also part of it rather than just that which is before us. This is why an ancient master answered, “You can’t escape from it” when he was asked what the Buddha is.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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