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the truth/buddha is hidden in plain sight

TheJourneyTheJourney
edited November 2010 in Buddhism Basics
no?

Comments

  • Invincible_summerInvincible_summer Heavy Metal Dhamma We(s)t coast, Canada Veteran
    edited November 2010
    Tathāgatagarbha?
  • TheJourneyTheJourney
    edited November 2010
    Indeed. When you see anything short of buddha/perfection in everyone it is a reflection of your own shortcomings.
  • SherabDorjeSherabDorje
    edited November 2010
    Is there a reference in any Buddhist literature for this? Especially "When you see anything short of buddha/perfection in everyone it is a reflection of your own shortcomings." I just say this because, although it sounds like a Zen saying, the terminology is not clear and if a debate is to ensue then we need to be clear about terminology. This discussion could go in just about any direction, so we need to be sure what we mean by "buddha/perfection" and "shortcomings" and how it is that this is what we supposedly see when we supposedly only see our own.
  • TheJourneyTheJourney
    edited November 2010
    SherabDorje wrote: »
    Is there a reference in any Buddhist literature for this? Especially "When you see anything short of buddha/perfection in everyone it is a reflection of your own shortcomings." I just say this because, although it sounds like a Zen saying, the terminology is not clear and if a debate is to ensue then we need to be clear about terminology. This discussion could go in just about any direction, so we need to be sure what we mean by "buddha/perfection" and "shortcomings" and how it is that this is what we supposedly see when we supposedly only see our own.

    I just read a sutra in which the buddha said such a couple days ago. I tried to find it again so I could give a source, but couldn't find it. Basically the buddha was with two of his disciples. He asked them what they saw the world as. One of them said he saw it as a perfect buddha land. The other one said he saw it as a land with good and evil, full of death and sickness and with imperfections everywhere. The buddha then took them to a beautiful perfect land. He asked the one who spoke negatively if he saw the beauty in that world. He said he did. The buddha said that he always sees the world as such, and that any fault you find in a world is a reflection of your own shortcomings.
  • TheJourneyTheJourney
    edited November 2010
    Ah I guess I didn't really clarify what I mean. By buddha/perfection I mean. Basically all things happen for a reason. Even when someone acts negatively you should see it as if that person is a buddha and he is trying to teach you something. You should see nothing as being short of buddha/perfection. And by shortcomings I mean ignorance and lack of character.
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