Soh

Someone asked me, “Hi Soh ,

You said that Buddha living and dying is a play by him.

So he can do this again also ? Is he living in another dimension ?”

I sent him a link to Lotus Sutra for him to read the sixteenth chapter.

But I will share my simple thoughts here.

There is a passage in Lotus Sutra that talks about the Buddha having infinite lifespan, appearing as this and that Buddha. But in truth, there is no birth nor cessation, no coming and going. What is this?

This Buddha is not limited to the historical appearance of Shakyamuni, nor this or that name or appearance or timeframe or locality. And if you were to search externally for this Buddha, your search will be in vain.

This is where Zen masters say, hey, look no further, for the Mind is Buddha (即心即佛).

“In Chan, a practitioner asks the master, ‘What is the Buddha?’ The master replies, ‘I fear that if I tell you, you will not believe it.’ The disciple says, ‘Master, if you speak honestly, how could I dare not believe you?’ The master says, ‘If you believe, then you are the Buddha.’ The disciple has an immediate realization: ‘Oh, so that is how it is!’" - A Compilation of Yuan Yin Lao Ren's Teachings https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2025/01/a-compilation-of-yuan-yin-lao-rens.html

The Flower Garland (Avataṃsaka) Sutra states, “The mind, the Buddha, and all living beings—these three things are without distinction.” - 心、佛、众生三者毫无差别

This is where you discover the true infinite light and infinite life - the name of Amitabha.

We have to go beyond the different names and forms and images we have about Buddhas to discover the true Buddha, that is our essence, infinite life and infinite light. This infinite lifespan and infinite light is none other than your Mind, and it is also true in every sense of the word, which is to say, this Mind of infinite light and infinite life is co-emergent with all appearances, all times and all spaces, temporally and spatially infinite in its radiance and magnitude.

Lotus Sutra excerpt from the chapter of the infinite lifespan of Buddha:

https://www.buddhistdoor.com/OldWeb/resources/sutras/lotus/sources/lotus16.htm

"From that time on, I have always remained in the Saha World, speaking the Dharma to teach and transform beings. Also, in other places, in hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of nayutas of asamkhyeyas of lands, I have guided and benefited living beings.

"Good men, in that interval, I spoke of the Buddha Dipankara and others, and I further spoke of them as entering Nirvana, but those were just discriminations made expediently.

"Good men, if a living being comes before me, I observe with my Buddha eye his faith and other qualities, as well as the keenness or dullness of his faculties, and I take him across in an appropriate manner.

"In all places, although the names by which I refer to myself are different and I may be older or younger, I also appear and announce that I am about to enter Nirvana. I also employ various expedient devices, speaking the subtle and wonderful Dharma and enabling living beings to bring forth happiness in their minds.

"Good men, the Thus Come One, seeing living beings delighting in lesser dharmas, beings of scanty virtue and heavy defilements, speaks for these people, saying, ‘When young, I left the home-life and attained anuttarasamyaksambodhi.’ In truth, however, I became a Buddha a long time before that. I speak in this way merely as an expedient to teach and transform living beings and to cause them to enter the Buddha Way.

"Good men, the Sutras proclaimed by the Thus Come One are all for the purpose of saving and liberating living beings. He may speak of his own body, or he may speak of someone else’s body. He may manifest in his own body, or he may manifest in someone else’s body. He may manifest his own affairs, or he may manifest the affairs of others, but all that he says is true and not false.

"What is the reason for this? The Thus Come One knows and sees the triple realm as it really is. There is no birth or death, no retreating or advancing, no existence in the world or passage into quiescence. There is no reality or unreality, no likenesses or differences. He views the triple realm as not being the triple realm. Matters such as these, the Thus Come One clearly sees, without mistake or error.”
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