Part 17-10
“Subhuti, Bodhisattvas are also like this. If they say, ‘I am going to liberate countless living beings,’ then they are not to be called Bodhisattvas.
“Why? Subhuti, in reality there is no such thing as a ‘Bodhisattva.’ Therefore Buddha says that all things have no self, no person, no being, and no liver of life.”
Commentary:
As the Buddha said in part 3, “Although a Bodhisattvas liberates innumerable, countless, infinite sentient beings, not a single sentient being is liberated in fact. Why not? Subhuti, if the Bodhisattvas have images of self, images of person, images of a being, images of a liver of life, they are not Bodhisattvas”, Bodhisattvas should be freed from being deluded by all images.
One who says, “I’m going to liberate countless sentient beings” signifies that the speaker is not a Bodhisattva who has escaped from being deluded by the illusions of ‘I’, ‘sentient being’ and ‘liberate’. From a Bodhisattva’s point of view, there is no ‘I’ to liberate sentient beings and no sentient beings to be liberated, since he sees everything as empty. Even if he happens to liberate sentient beings, he looks upon his acts of liberating sentient beings not as acts of liberating sentient beings but as functions of the true-Self.
This is why ancient masters would say to their students, “No matter what great work you may do, you should know that you are doing nothing. If in your mind there is even the tiniest idea left that you did something, the idea will turn the limitless merit of doing great work into karma.”
So, an enlightened man is referred to as an idle man without work.
Student: “If there is no such thing as a Bodhisattva, and all things have no self, no person, no being, and no liver of life, whom did the Buddha gave this talk to?”
Master: “Why don’t you know that the Buddha didn’t say a word?”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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