Part 13-4
“Subhuti, what do you think—can the Realised One be seen by way of the thirty-two marks?” “No, World Honoured One, the Realised One cannot be seen by way of the thirty-two marks. Why? The thirty-two marks explained by the Realised One are not marks, they are just called the thirty-two marks.”
Commentary:
This scripture says that we should not dwell on the thirty-two marks, physical characteristics that the Buddha said as expedient means. The Avatamsaka Sutra also says, “If one is not attached to the Buddha even when seeing Him, he is the one who knows the Buddha and will see the dharma of the true-Self.”
However, it doesn’t mean that we should ignore them completely but means that we should see the Realised One, the true-Self amid and through them, just as we recognise air in and through winds.
Emptiness is forms, and forms are emptiness. Both are one, dependent on each other, and one contains the other, and so one can be recognised through the other.
The historical Buddha is to the true-Self as a wind is to air. We should be able to recognise the Realised One, the true-Self, the essence of the historical Buddha through seeing his physical body, or hearing his words, just as we can recognise air through winds that are its function.
Student: “How can we recognise the Realised One if He cannot be seen by way of the thirty-two marks?”
Master: “The thirty-two marks should not be the thirty-two marks.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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