If the Buddha were here today running a Dharma center, there would be nothing physically extraordinary about him. We wouldn't see any thirty-two marks (which are immaterial, e.g., the ninth mark which is having the torso like a lion's, actually signifies that the Buddha looked after others with great care and concern). He might even need a cane and have a few teeth missing. Our romantic view of the Buddha can never, in any accurate way, portray the Buddha because the Buddha is the Dharma body which is transcendent which means it is permanent, reliable, completely pure by nature, completely liberated from all the sheaths of the kleśas, etc. The only thing exceptional about this grizzled old dude who runs a Dharma center is what he beheld. It was certainly profound and indescribable.
Having said this, there is no stopping ordinary beings from over-using their imagination, trying to imagine a human Buddha; even expecting their teachers to act Buddha-like which I hasten to add would be difficult to do since the Dharma body is outside of the range of human perception. Its acts, if we may call them that, are transcendent. Nevertheless, if our karma was good (good in the sense of being capable of becoming a Buddha) we would be in for a surprise meeting this old gaffer. In a matter of a few minutes we would sense a blissful energy engulfing us, including our thoughts. Just as our Dharma center Buddha is connecting, at all times, with the Dharma body because of all the right things he did to enter into communion with it, likewise, connecting with him because of our good karma, we directly experience this light, but not as strong; nor do we understand, firsthand, how to yoke with this effulgent body.
Even though the same light that animates us animates this old gaffer, which constitutes the Dharma body, he connected with it directly—we only connect with it indirectly. It is somewhat like hanging around a wealthy person so that his confidence and manners rub off on us. Still, we haven't made our own fortune even though we don't feel poor or in debt anymore.
Looking for enlightened teachers can only take us so far which is not far enough. The rest depends upon us. The part that depends on us is where our struggle begins. It is the part that is almost totally deceived; which is mired in wrong preconceptions because we have not payed close enough attention to what the Buddha said. Instead, we have paid too much attention to what he did not say. We have been led too much by pop Buddhism and pop Zen which also paint a picture that Buddhism and Zen Buddhism is a lifestyle. But where does such a lifestyle lead us, ultimately? Sorry, but it is back on the wheel of samsara, maybe a little bit better on the next rebirth. But that's nothing to celebrate.
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