Part 18-2
“Subhuti, what do you think—has the Buddha mentioned the grains of sand in the Ganges River?” “Yes, World Honoured One, the Realised One has mentioned the sand.” “Subhuti, what do you think—if there were as many Ganges Rivers as there are the grains of sand in the Ganges River, and there were as many Buddha worlds as the grains of sand of all the Ganges Rivers, how many would all the Buddha-worlds be?” “Very many, World Honoured One.” The Buddha said to Subhuti, “The Realised One knows all kinds of sentient beings’ minds in the worlds.”
Commentary:
As stated by the Buddha earlier, this phrase means both that no matter how many various things there are, there is nothing that is not empty, and that the Buddha, as mentioned in the preceding part, has the six eyes with which He can see everything as empty, that is, as it really is.
Then, He can see the Buddha-worlds, sentient beings and sentient beings’ minds as empty. This is why the Buddha knows all kinds of sentient beings’ minds in the worlds.
Student: “What is a sentient being’s mind like who is a thousand miles away?”
Master: “It is not different from yours.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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