The Flowering of a Wonderful Law [6]
The self is nowhere to be found in any world
Once there was a man who was both very knowledgeable and very wise. One day he entered into a great meditation. Within his meditation he taught a vast number of other beings about a Wonderful Law governing all beings; he says this Law is very important for everyone to know. The occasion of this teaching is sometimes referred to as Teaching on the Lotus of the Wonderful Law.
The person who taught this lesson was known at that time as The Awakened. All the other beings to whom The Awakened taught the Law appeared only as part of the meditation itself; in fact, the whole event occurs entirely within and as part of the dream-like meditation that The Awakened had attained on that day. Present were countless followers and disciples of The Awakened; there were great numbers of teachers of the Law, and there were a few other beings who were actually other lives of The Awakened who had come forward from other, very distant worlds and times.
There were also several imaginary (or transcendent) beings present; each of these beings personified certain aspects of the Law that The Awakened was teaching. Here are the names of a few of the imaginary beings who were present: Perfect Wisdom, Infinite Life, Hearer of All Cries, Complete Healing, Radiant Virtue, Golden Light, and Limitless Joy.
This is the Law:
Every being in the universe will attain perfect wisdom and understanding, and will be completely saved from all suffering and misery.
This is the Corollary to the Law:
No being can ever be led by another to the attainment of perfect wisdom or understanding, nor can any being ever be saved by another being.
The mechanism of the Law can be explained somewhat by what The Awakened said to the imaginary beings:
Because you believe you are different from me, you are not yet The Awakened.
But because you are me, it is the Law that one day you will be awakened to the knowledge that you already are The Awakened.
You are The Awakened, but you are not yet awakened to the fact that you are The Awakened.
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Why is this referred to as a Flowering or a Lotus? According to this story, what is the true nature of reality and being?
Why can’t The Awakened lead other beings to perfect wisdom and save them from suffering and misery? In reality, how many other beings are there?
Why does the teaching occur in meditation?
How does a teacher teach other beings that each of them is exactly the same being as the teacher who is teaching them?