Part 21-1
“Subhuti, do not say that the Realised One entertains this thought: ‘There are dharma talks that I preached.’ Do not entertain this thought. Why? If anybody says the Realised One preached any dharma talks, he is slandering the Buddha, because he cannot understand what I say.
Commentary:
The true-Self is the state that is perfectly free from discrimination, which never admits of even a single word. This is why the Buddha said in the Lotus Sutra, “The true-Self is impossible to show and explain because it is beyond forms, languages and words, and so sentient beings cannot recognise it. Only Bodhisattvas with firm faith can appreciate it.”
This means that although he used a lot of words by the act of speaking in regard to the true-Self, which people think of as dharma talks, he didn’t mean to explain it with words but meant to reveal its function through the act of speaking the words.
Therefore, if someone, deluded by the words, says that the Buddha delivered Dharma talks, it is because he doesn’t understand what the Buddha preached. Such an act is speaking ill of the Buddha.
Student: “If there are no dharma talks preached by the Buddha, what are all the Sutras known in the world?”
Master: “The Sutra is another name of the Buddha.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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