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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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