Part 22
Subhuti said to the Buddha, “World Honoured One, when the Buddha attained unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment, it means that there was nothing attained” The Buddha said, “That is so. That is so. Subhuti, there was nothing whatsoever for me to attain in unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment. This is called unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment.”
Commentary:
Attaining unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment means realising that everything is empty. That everything is empty means that there is nothing that is not empty. It follows from this that not only he who attains unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment, but enlightenment itself is also empty.
So, if one thinks that there is even a single little thing to give and take that is not empty, he is far from having attained unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment.
Student: “If there is nothing to attain, what is the purpose of Buddhism?”
Master: “It is to help people to stop chasing and clinging to what doesn’t exist.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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