All Existence Is Spiritual
And there was an officer among the retinue of Simha who had heard
of the discourses of the Blessed One, and there was some doubt
left in his heart.
This man came to the Blessed One and said: "It is said, O Lord,
that the samana Gotama denies the existence of the soul. Do they
who say so speak the truth, or do they bear false witness against
the Blessed One?"
And the Blessed One said: "There is a way in which those who say
so are speaking truly of me; on the other hand, there is a way in
which those who say so do not speak truly of me.
"The Tathagata teaches that there is no self. He who says that
the soul is his self and that the self is the thinker of our
thoughts and the actor of our deeds, teaches a wrong doctrine
which leads to confusion and darkness.
"On the other hand, the Tathagata teaches that there is mind. He
who understands by soul mind, and says that mind exists, teaches
the truth which leads to clearness and enlightenment."
The officer said: "Does, then, the Tathagata maintain that two
things exist? that which we perceive with our senses and that
which is mental?"
Said the Blessed One: "Verily, I say unto thee, thy mind is
spiritual, but neither is the sense-perceived void of
spirituality. The bodhi is eternal and it dominates all existence
as the good law guiding all beings in their search for truth. It
changes brute nature into mind, and there is no being that cannot
be transformed into a vessel of truth."
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