A. Let’s suppose that there is a curious lump of gold that looks different according to the angle of view. Some people say that it is a flower, some believe that it is a bird, and some think that it is an apple. Many other names can also be given to it.
Saying that everything is an illusion means that a flower, a bird and an apple are all illusions, labels created by your discrimination and not the essence of it. Saying that everything is empty signifies that the essence of everything, regardless of whatever it is called, is gold.
Our problem is that we, deluded by its superficial shape, can see only a flower, a bird and an apple without realising that the essence of them is gold. This means that we are deluded by illusions without realising gold. So, realising that everything is an illusion means realising that everything is much more valuable than we have thought that it is, because it implies that everything is gold. Enlightenment is to see the true value and beauty of everything that we have missed seeing so far.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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