Part 25-1
“What do you think, Subhuti? You should not say that the Realised One entertains this thought: ‘I should save sentient beings’. Subhuti, do not think this. Why? There really are no sentient beings the Realised One saves. If there were sentient beings the Realised One saves, then the Realised One would have image of self, image of person, image of sentient being, and image of liver of life.”
Commentary:
Although the Buddha gave himself to saving sentient beings, he never thought that he saved any sentient beings, because if he had had that kind of idea, it would have meant that he was still not freed from being deluded by images.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the crux of Buddhism is to save all sentient beings. Saving all sentient beings means freeing oneself from being deluded by images and words.
Student: “If there were not sentient beings to save, why did the Buddha preach this Sutra?”
Master: “Because we are deluded by what doesn’t exist.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Zen Fools 
By freeing oneself, we have freed all… we come to see the One in emanations of “others”. There can never be a time when all can be seen as liberated while still perceived as separate, through unrealized eyes.
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