Part 26-1,2
“Subhuti, what do you think—can you view the Realised One in terms of the thirty-two marks?” Subhuti said, “That’s the way it is—we can view the Realised One in terms of thirty-two marks.” The Buddha said, “If you view the Realised One in terms of the thirty-two marks, then a law-giving sage ruler would be a Realised One.” Subhuti said to the Buddha, “World Honoured One, as I understand the meaning of what the Buddha says, we should not view the Realised One in terms of the thirty-two marks.”
Commentary:
As mentioned repeatedly in preceding parts, the Realised One, the Buddha signifies Emptiness, the true-Self that is formless, boundless, changeless and nameless.
As the Avatamsaka Sutra says, “When sentient beings see the true-Self, they are swayed only by its form. They can’t see the Buddha, because they don’t know that the true-Self is formless”, we can’t recognise the Realised One, the Buddha since we are deluded by forms, or images. This is why Subhuti said, “We should not view the Realised One in terms of the thirty-two marks.”
Therefore, Bodhidharma said that we should be able to see and hear what is unseen and unheard to the effect that we ought not to be deluded by images and words. When we see, or hear a thing, we ought to know that it is a function of what is unseen, or unheard.
Student: “How can I see the Buddha if we can’t see Him through thirty-two marks?”
Master: “We can see Him through thirty-two marks.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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