Part 14-8
“Subhuti, the practice of patience, the Realised One says, is not practice of patience but it is just called the practice of patience.”
“Why? Subhuti, it is like when I was dismembered by King Kali long ago. At that time, I had no image of self, no image of person, no image of sentient being, and no image of a liver of life. Why? When I was being dismembered in the past, if I had had an image of self, an image of person, an image of sentient being, and an image of a liver of life, I would have become angry and spiteful.”
Commentary:
In part 8-3, the Buddha said, “Even what is called the Buddha Dharma is not the Buddha Dharma.” In part 10-2, he said, “To adorn a Buddha-land is not to adorn it; it is merely called adornment.” In part 13-5, he stated, “The thirty-two marks are not the thirty-two marks; they are merely called the thirty-two marks.” In part 14-5, he explained, “Because this person has no image of self, no image of person, no image of a sentient being, or no image of a liver of life, being free from all images, he is called the Buddha.” In 14-7, he noted, “The prime practice taught by the Buddha is not the prime practice; it is merely named so.” And here in part 14-8, he again emphasises, “It is not the practice of patience; it is merely named the practice of patience.” By this, he stresses that all words are not reality; one must not be deceived by words but realise the functioning of the true-Self through them.
The Buddha, who transcends all marks and sees and hears things as they truly are, has no image of self. Thus, there is no ‘I.’ King Kali is also not ‘King Kali’ but is merely named so; his essence is Emptiness (the true-Self). The act of cutting is not cutting but is merely named so; its essence is the functioning of the true-Self. Since both the Buddha and King Kali are of one identical true-Self, there is neither a cutter nor one being cut.
As the Buddha said, “When my body was being cut piece by piece by King Kali, I had no image of a self, a person, a sentient being, or a liver of life. Had I held such images at that time, I would surely have given rise to anger and resentment.” In reality, King Kali—who was actually cutting the Buddha’s body—must have been exhausted mentally and physically by his rage. However, because the Buddha was never cut in essence, he did not merely endure pain; rather, there was no pain or suffering to be endured. Thus, the core of the practice of patience is not the practice of putting up with things, but the realisation that all is empty, and thus there is nothing to endure.
This is illustrated in the Ratnakuta Sutra. Five hundred monks at Vulture Peak, through their supernatural power of knowing past lives, saw that they had killed their parents in previous existences. Trapped by the mark of guilt, they could not enter the realisation of the profound Dharma. Manjushri, using an expedient means and empowered by the Buddha, took up a sword and threatened to kill the Buddha. The Buddha told him: “Stay your hand, Manjushri. Do not commit a grave sin. Do not harm me. If I am harmed, I am surely harmed in a good way. Manjushri, fundamentally there is no self or other, yet you merely give rise to the view that they exist. When such a view arises in the mind, the one who holds it is surely harmed; this is what is meant by harming.”
As the Buddha suggests here, one who sees everything as the functioning of the true-Self, sees even an act of harm not as harm but as the function of the true-Self. Such a person is harmed in a good way. There is no separation between self and other; it is only through discrimination that the view of me vs. you arises. Anyone who gives rise to such a view—like King Kali, who tore his own spirit apart by being deceived by images—is ultimately harming himself.
In this context, King Kali symbolises sentient beings and the Buddha symbolises the true-Self (Emptiness). King Kali, unable to transcend marks, could not see the Oneness (Non-duality) and saw the Buddha as separate from himself. He cut the Buddha’s body, but in truth, the Buddha has no form and cannot be cut. Kali was deceived by the image of the Buddha. This represents sentient beings who tear Emptiness into countless fragments called names and then suffer, being deceived by those very names and fragmented shapes.
As the Avatamsaka Sutra states:
“The act of seeing, the object seen,
And even the seer must all be eliminated.
Only then does one not destroy the True Dharma;
Only such a person shall truly know the Buddha.”
Disciple: “Why did King Kali cut the Buddha?”
Master: “Where did you hear such a thing?”
Disciple: “Doesn’t the Diamond Sutra say so, as spoken by the Buddha?”
Master: “Don’t cut the Buddha.”
Out of respect for the Buddha,
You bow before a Buddha statue.
Your heart is commendable,
Yet with a blade, you cut the Buddha’s body.
Koan:
When the World-Honoured One was first born, he took seven steps in each of the four directions, looked around, and pointing one hand to the heavens and one to the earth, he said: “Above the heavens and below the heavens, I alone am the World-Honoured One!”
Upon hearing this, Woonmoon said: “Had I seen him at that moment, I would have struck him dead with one blow of my staff and fed him to the hungry dogs, thereby bringing peace to the world.”
Question: Why did Woonmoon say such cruel words to the Buddha, just like King Kali?
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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