If you meet the Buddha, kill
the Buddha.
(Koan)
First reaction
Why would you kill Buddha?
Exploration
What is Buddha?
Is it a person or a concept?
How can you meet Buddha? Is it really Buddha? Is it somebody claiming to be
Buddha?
Why would you kill them? What purpose would it serve?
Why do people kill?
For protection? To save themselves? From threat?
Is meeting the Buddha something dangerous and threatening?
Possible meaning
Buddha is not a person. It is a term applied to the original nature
that exits within each of us.
If a guru or leader claim to be the Buddha, they are not going to help you.
If your original nature is your focus, why would you follow somebody else.
Following another person can only lead you further away from your innermost
self.
It is like
The Silent Flute. We each have our own voice
and our own contribution to life.
Our responsibility is to find it for ourselves, you cannot find it through
somebody else.
Methods, traditions, rituals, lineage, superstition, authority and leaders
cannot give you something that you already possess.
If we 'meet' our innermost self, then there exists a form of dualism. It is
like talking to yourself. Who are you actually talking with?
Believing Buddha to be a separate entity within us is delusional, and we should
rid ourselves of the illusion if we are to proceed.
You cannot meet your self - it is like a knife trying to cut itself.
Page created 19 May 2005