Part 14-5
“Why? This person will have no image of self, no image of person, no image of a being, no image of a liver of life. Why? The image of self is not a characteristic; the image of person, the image of a being, and the image of a liver of life are not characteristics. Why? Being freed from all images, he is called the buddha.”
Commentary:
This person means a person who hears this sutra, believes in it, understands it, accepts it and upholds it. He is a person who, free from all images, is never deluded by any images. Such a person, this scripture says, is called the Buddha.
In other words, we are essentially the Buddha, but we are sentient beings because we are deluded by images, illusions. We are like a king who is dreaming that we are begging for coins in the streets as a beggar. This is why enlightenment is compared to awakening from sleep.
In short, if we can grasp any single word in this sutra we are reading at this moment, we become freed from all images, that is, we become awakened from our dreams and can be called the Buddha as well.
No matter how well you have understood this writing, you are still far from being freed from all images if you can’t see the true-Self in these words.
Student: “If the state, or the one that is freed from all images and names is the Buddha, what is he, or it like?”
Master: “Beyond words.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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