Part 20
“Subhuti, what do you think—can the Buddha be seen by his perfect physical body?” “No, World Honoured One. The Realised One is not to be seen by his perfect physical body. Why? The perfect physical body mentioned by the Realised One is not a perfect physical body, but it is called a perfect physical body.”
Commentary:
The Buddha means Emptiness that is formless, boundless, nameless and changeless. In other words, the Buddha is eternity itself and perfection itself.
This is why he cannot be seen by his physical body that has birth and death, a certain form, and changes.
The reason why Buddha mentioned the perfect physical body is not to describe His physical body but to reveal the true-Self through the act of saying ‘perfect physical body’. This is why Subhuti said, “The perfect physical body mentioned by the Realised One is not a perfect physical body, but it is just called a perfect physical body.” So, if we, deluded by His words, try to see the Buddha by his perfect physical body, we cannot see Him.
However, we cannot avoid seeing him even at this moment if we are not deluded by words.
Student: “If the Buddha can’t be seen by his physical body, how can we see Him?”
Master: “We can see Him by His physical body.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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