Part 17-7
Therefore, the Realised One says that all things are Buddha’s teachings.
Commentary:
As noted earlier a couple of times, everything is both the Buddha and his teaching, just as a dancer and her dance is one. This is why all things are referred to as the Sutra as well.
As the Avatamsaka Sutra says, “The Buddha makes his appearance in worldly things all around the world. There is no one who cannot see His body. He leads sentient beings to nirvana with a variety of expedients whilst showering the rain of dharma on sentient beings with a voice like a thunder”, all things that we can see and hear are the Buddha. There is nothing that is not the Buddha. We are being showered with his teaching all the time and no one can stop facing Him even for a moment.
However, as the Avatamsaka Sutra says, “It is because sentient beings’ karma is heavy that they, not having seen the Buddha for hundreds of kalpas, have suffering in the ocean of birth and death”, we can’t recognise the Buddha because of our heavy karma that we have been deluded by illusions and attached to them for kalpas.
So, whilst they appear to be separate things from one another when we can’t see things as they are, they appear to be one and the same when we can see them as they are.
If we do appreciate the scripture ‘all things are Buddha’s teachings’, each of these words should appear to be the Buddha.
Student: “If all things are the Buddha’s teachings, how should I hear the sounds of birds?”
Master: “You should see them as the Buddha above all.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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