Ordinary, worldly beings which the Buddha called, prithagjana, are not unlike somnambulists walking busily with their eyes wide open. They may appear not to be asleep, but as regards the sublime Dharma which the Buddha realized, they are sleepwalkers. How did the Buddha see these somnambulists after he had just awakened?
“Strange! How Strange! How can it be that although all sentient beings are fully possessed of the wisdom of the Tathagata, because of their ignorance and confusion, they neither know nor see that?” (Avatamsaka Sutra)
The newly awakened Buddha clearly saw worldlings animated by that which he had just realized. Yet, while he was aware of this superessential medium, which made him the awakened one or Buddha, the prithagjana were unable to connect with it. Their unbroken habit of identifying, deeply, with the life of the psychophysical body, interfacing with its experiences and travails, did not serve to make them more open to the Buddha’s teachings but, in fact, made them less open. Still, there were others with sufficient merit who were drawn to the Buddha’s teaching; who were open to his message and his doctrine.
These particular beings were able to resonate with the Buddha’s teaching such that they sensed not only the importance of his words but also, to some degree, the superessential light his own meditational practice amplified (keep in mind the Buddha is the "light unsurpassed"). Pertinent to this, in the Theragatha of the Pali Nikayas, the monk Kankharevata says the following:
“See this wisdom of the Tathagatas; it is like a fire blazing in the night; those who dispel the doubt of those who come become givers of light and vision” (3).
The importance of Kankharevata’s words are made even more striking when we read this verse from the Dhammapada.
“Thus, amidst rubbish-like beings: the blinded worldlings (prithagjana), the disciple of the truly and completely Awakened One sublimely shines (atiruc) with wisdom (S., prajñâ)” (59).
Offering some ray of hope for all worldlings, the commentary to the this particular verse has us to understand that even with rubbish (i.e., defilements), “though it is loathsome and repulsive, a sweet-smelling lotus could be born.” And certainly this will probably happen if worldlings, instead of following the path of blindness elect, instead, to follow the Buddha’s path. Perhaps to some degree, they will also awaken to the sublime clear light of Mind that has never ceased animating them which, as a matter of fact, is their very being and self—not the rubbish heap to which they cling!
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