ULTIMATELY
THERE IS NO SELF, SEVENTEEN
Then Subhuti addressed the Buddha, "World Honored One, if a good man or
good woman resolves his mind on Anuttarasamyaksambodhi, on what should
he rely? How should he subdue his mind?" The Buddha told Subhuti, "A good
man or good woman who resolves his mind on Anuttarasamyaksambodhi should
think thus: 'I should take all living beings across to Cessation. Yet
when all living beings have been taken across to Cessation, actually not
one living being has been taken across to Cessation.' Why? Subhuti, if
a Bodhisattva has an appearance of self, others, living beings or a life,
he is not a Bodhisattva. For what reason? Subhuti, actually there is no
such dharma as resolving one's mind on Anuttarasamyaksambodhi. "Subhuti,
what do you think, when the Thus Come One was with Burning Lamp Buddha,
did he attain the dharma of Anuttarasamyaksambodhi?" "No World Honored
One. As I understand what the Buddha has said, when the Buddha was with
Burning Lamp Buddha, he did not attain the dharma of Anuttarasamyaksambodhi."
The Buddha said, "So it is, so it is Subhuti. The Thus Come One did not
actually attain the dharma of Anuttarasamyaksambodhi. Subhuti, if the
Thus Come One had actually attained the dharma of Anuttarasamyaksambodhi,
then Burning Lamp Buddha would not have given me the prediction: 'You
will in the future become a Buddha with the name Shakyamuni.' Since I
did not actually attain the dharma of Anuttarasamyaksambodhi, Burning
Lamp Buddha gave me the prediction saying these words, 'You will in the
future become a Buddha with the name Shakyamuni.' Why? 'Thus Come One'
means 'all dharmas are "thus".' Someone might say the Thus Come One attained
Anuttarasamyaksambodhi, Subhuti, but actually the Buddha did not attain
the dharma of Anuttarasamyaksambodhi. Subhuti, there is nothing true nor
false in the Anuttarasamyaksambodhi the Thus Come One attains. Therefore,
the Thus Come One says that all dharmas are Buddhadharma. Subhuti, what
are spoken of as 'all dharmas', are not all dharmas. Therefore they are
called 'all dharmas.' "Subhuti, suppose there is a person with a big body."
Subhuti said, "World Honored One, the Thus Come One speaks of a big body
as not being a big body. Therefore it is called a big body." "Subhuti,
a Bodhisattva is also like this. If he said, 'I should take across immeasurable
living beings to Cessation,' then he could not be called a Bodhisattva.
Why? Subhuti, there is really no dharma called a Bodhisattva. Therefore
the Buddha says that all dharmas are without self, others, living beings
or a life. "Subhuti, if a Bodhisattva said, 'I should adorn Buddhalands,'
he could not be called a Bodhisattva. Why? What the Thus Come One speaks
of as adorning Buddhalands is not adorning Buddhalands. Therefore it is
called adorning Buddhalands. Subhuti, if a Bodhisattva comprehends the
dharma of no self, the Thus Come One calls him a true Bodhisattva."
