Part 15-5
“Subhuti, wherever this Sutra may be, in whatever place it may be, it should be provided support by all beings, celestial, human, and asura. You should know that this place is a stupa, which all should honour, bow to, and circumambulate, and strew with flowers and scents.”
Commentary:
In order to understand this part, we had better take into account Part 13-2, “What do you think, Subhuti – is there any doctrine that the Realised One has preached?” Subhuti said to the Buddha, “World Honoured One, there is no doctrine that the Realised One has preached.”
The Sutra is known as words, text preached by the Buddha, whereas the Buddha said that he didn’t preach any doctrine.
This signifies that we should know clearly what ‘where this Sutra is’ represents. As mentioned in the commentary of Part 12, even if we, deluded by words, pile up hundreds of volumes of the Diamond Sutra somewhere, nothing at all except decay happens to them over time, not to mention them being provided support by all beings, celestial, human, and asura.
The core of the Buddha’s teaching is that everything is equal and one as Emptiness, the true-Self. There should not be any difference between this Sutra, the Buddha (the true-Self) and all other things, including ourselves.
Accordingly, this Sutra doesn’t mean a physical Sutra that is written, or printed on paper, or cloth, or carved in stone, or wood but, as mentioned in the previous parts, means the true-Self. This is why this Sutra should be provided support by all beings, celestial, human, and asura. Where this Sutra is, is no other than where we are now. In other words, to those who know that this Sutra is the true-Self, everything seen and heard, including ourselves, is the Sutra since everything is the true-Self.
Student: “Why should we treasure physical Sutras if they are not true Sutras?”
Master: “They also become true Sutras when you know what the true Sutra is.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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