This is what I heard.......................
# The Buddha said: ''Subhuti, a disciple should think : All living beings, i strive to lead them to Nirvana, the ending of the cycle of birth and death. And when all living beings have been liberated, in truth not a single being has been liberated."
# ''Also a disciple will keep in mind that in truth, there's no such thing as an I or an other whom.''
# "If a disciple still clings to the arbitrary illusions of form or phenomena, a self, a separate person, or an universal self existing eternally, then he is not a true disciple."
# ''A disciple should practice compassion without attachment to appearances, form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or quality of any kind.''
"Subhuti, can the Buddha be recognized by his bodily form?"
"No, when the Buddha speaks of bodily form, it is only an illusion."
# The Buddha said: "When you see that all forms are illusive and unreal, you begin to perceive your true Buddha nature."
# "Anyone seeking total Enlightenment should discard all conceptions of their own selfhood, of other selves, or of an universal self and all notions of the non-existence of such concepts."
# "When the Buddha explains things using concepts and ideas, remember the unreality of all such concepts and ideas. In teaching spiritual truths, the Buddha uses concepts and ideas as a raft is used to cross a river. Once the river has been crossed, the raft should be discarded.''
Then Buddha asked Subhuti, "Has the Buddha arrived at the highest enlightened mind? Does the Buddha teach any teaching?"
# Subhuti replied, "There is no independently existing object of mind called the highest enlightened mind. Teachings of the Buddha cannot be conceived of as separate, independent things. It neither is, nor is it not. Buddhas are enlightened by an internal intuitive process which is part of their own inner nature."
''Subhuti, if a person filled galaxies with treasures for charity, would this person not gain great merit?"
"Yes, even though this person has no separate existence to which merit could accrue."
# The Buddha continued, "If someone understood only four lines of this Sutra. This person's merit would be greater as all Buddhas and all teachings arise from this Sutra. But, I must take back my words as soon as they are uttered, for there are no Buddhas and no teachings."
Buddha asked, "Subhuti, does one who entered the stream which flows to Enlightenment, say 'I have entered the stream'?"
# Subhuti replied. "No, a true disciple would not think of a separate person entering anything."
Buddha continued, "Does a disciple who has one more rebirth say to himself, 'I am entitled to the honors and rewards of a Once-to-be-reborn.'?"
"No, There is no passing away, or coming into, existence."
"Subhuti, does a Buddha say to himself, 'I have obtained Perfect Enlightenment.'?"
"No, he would be admitting there is an individual person, a separate self and would not be a Buddha."
# Subhuti said, " I know there is no Subhuti and therefore Subhuti abides nowhere, that he neither knows nor does not know bliss, and that he is neither free from nor enslaved by his passions."
The Buddha continued, ''A disciple should develop a mind which is independent of all sensory sensations or mental conceptions."
"Subhuti, has the Buddha taught any definite teaching in this Sutra?"
"No, the Buddha has not taught any definite teaching in this Sutra."
''Most Honored One, Buddhas have been able to discard all arbitrary conceptions of form and phenomena, they have transcended all perceptions and illusion of all forms."
# The Buddha continued, ''Subhuti, if the disciple's mind depends upon anything in the sensory realm it will have no solid foundation in any reality. Just as the Buddha declares that form is not form and all living beings are not living beings."
The Buddha said: "Someone would be mistaken to say that the Buddha has attained the highest awakened mind because there is no such thing to be attained."
# "Subhuti, even a 'disciple' is non-existent and there is really nothing for a disciple to liberate."
# "Subhuti, all modes of thought are not mind. Why? It is impossible to retain a past thought, to seize a future thought, and hold onto a present thought."
Subhuti asked, "When you attained complete Enlightenment, did you feel in your mind that nothing had been acquired?"
# The Buddha replied: "When I attained total Enlightenment, I did not feel any arbitrary conception of spiritual truth. Even the words 'total Enlightenment' are used merely as a figure of speech."
The Buddha said: "Subhuti, while the expression 'Buddha' means 'he who has thus come, thus gone,' the Buddha is never coming from or going anywhere. The name 'Buddha' is merely a figure of speech."
# The Buddha said: "Subhuti, people seeking Enlightenment ought to understand and realize that all things and all spiritual truths are no-things."
# "So I say to you - This is how to contemplate our conditioned existence in this fleeting world:
Like a tiny drop of dew, or a bubble floating in a stream;
Like a flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
Or a flickering lamp, an illusion, a phantom, or a dream.
So is all conditioned existence to be seen."
Thus spoke the Buddha.
# The Buddha said: ''Subhuti, a disciple should think : All living beings, i strive to lead them to Nirvana, the ending of the cycle of birth and death. And when all living beings have been liberated, in truth not a single being has been liberated."
# ''Also a disciple will keep in mind that in truth, there's no such thing as an I or an other whom.''
# "If a disciple still clings to the arbitrary illusions of form or phenomena, a self, a separate person, or an universal self existing eternally, then he is not a true disciple."
# ''A disciple should practice compassion without attachment to appearances, form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or quality of any kind.''
"Subhuti, can the Buddha be recognized by his bodily form?"
"No, when the Buddha speaks of bodily form, it is only an illusion."
# The Buddha said: "When you see that all forms are illusive and unreal, you begin to perceive your true Buddha nature."
# "Anyone seeking total Enlightenment should discard all conceptions of their own selfhood, of other selves, or of an universal self and all notions of the non-existence of such concepts."
# "When the Buddha explains things using concepts and ideas, remember the unreality of all such concepts and ideas. In teaching spiritual truths, the Buddha uses concepts and ideas as a raft is used to cross a river. Once the river has been crossed, the raft should be discarded.''
Then Buddha asked Subhuti, "Has the Buddha arrived at the highest enlightened mind? Does the Buddha teach any teaching?"
# Subhuti replied, "There is no independently existing object of mind called the highest enlightened mind. Teachings of the Buddha cannot be conceived of as separate, independent things. It neither is, nor is it not. Buddhas are enlightened by an internal intuitive process which is part of their own inner nature."
''Subhuti, if a person filled galaxies with treasures for charity, would this person not gain great merit?"
"Yes, even though this person has no separate existence to which merit could accrue."
# The Buddha continued, "If someone understood only four lines of this Sutra. This person's merit would be greater as all Buddhas and all teachings arise from this Sutra. But, I must take back my words as soon as they are uttered, for there are no Buddhas and no teachings."
Buddha asked, "Subhuti, does one who entered the stream which flows to Enlightenment, say 'I have entered the stream'?"
# Subhuti replied. "No, a true disciple would not think of a separate person entering anything."
Buddha continued, "Does a disciple who has one more rebirth say to himself, 'I am entitled to the honors and rewards of a Once-to-be-reborn.'?"
"No, There is no passing away, or coming into, existence."
"Subhuti, does a Buddha say to himself, 'I have obtained Perfect Enlightenment.'?"
"No, he would be admitting there is an individual person, a separate self and would not be a Buddha."
# Subhuti said, " I know there is no Subhuti and therefore Subhuti abides nowhere, that he neither knows nor does not know bliss, and that he is neither free from nor enslaved by his passions."
The Buddha continued, ''A disciple should develop a mind which is independent of all sensory sensations or mental conceptions."
"Subhuti, has the Buddha taught any definite teaching in this Sutra?"
"No, the Buddha has not taught any definite teaching in this Sutra."
''Most Honored One, Buddhas have been able to discard all arbitrary conceptions of form and phenomena, they have transcended all perceptions and illusion of all forms."
# The Buddha continued, ''Subhuti, if the disciple's mind depends upon anything in the sensory realm it will have no solid foundation in any reality. Just as the Buddha declares that form is not form and all living beings are not living beings."
The Buddha said: "Someone would be mistaken to say that the Buddha has attained the highest awakened mind because there is no such thing to be attained."
# "Subhuti, even a 'disciple' is non-existent and there is really nothing for a disciple to liberate."
# "Subhuti, all modes of thought are not mind. Why? It is impossible to retain a past thought, to seize a future thought, and hold onto a present thought."
Subhuti asked, "When you attained complete Enlightenment, did you feel in your mind that nothing had been acquired?"
# The Buddha replied: "When I attained total Enlightenment, I did not feel any arbitrary conception of spiritual truth. Even the words 'total Enlightenment' are used merely as a figure of speech."
The Buddha said: "Subhuti, while the expression 'Buddha' means 'he who has thus come, thus gone,' the Buddha is never coming from or going anywhere. The name 'Buddha' is merely a figure of speech."
# The Buddha said: "Subhuti, people seeking Enlightenment ought to understand and realize that all things and all spiritual truths are no-things."
# "So I say to you - This is how to contemplate our conditioned existence in this fleeting world:
Like a tiny drop of dew, or a bubble floating in a stream;
Like a flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
Or a flickering lamp, an illusion, a phantom, or a dream.
So is all conditioned existence to be seen."
Thus spoke the Buddha.
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