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One day Venerable Anuruddha was stopped by a group of ascetics. They did not want to let him pass until he answered their question.
They asked him, “We have heard that Monk Gautama is a completely enlightened Master and that his teaching is subtle and profound. You
are his disciple. Therefore, answer this—when Monk Gautama dies, will he continue to exist or will he cease to exist?”
The ascetics told Anuruddha that he must select from one of the four following possibilities:
When he dies, Monk Gautama will continue to exist.
When he dies, Monk Gautama will cease to exist.
When he dies, Monk Gautama will both continue to exist and cease to exist.
When he dies, Monk Gautama will neither continue to exist nor cease to exist.
Bhikkhu Anuruddha knew that none of these four responses was compatible with the true teaching. He remained silent. The ascetics did
not want to accept his silence. They tried in vain to force him to select one of the four responses. At last, the Venerable said, “My friends,
according to my understanding, none of these four responses can accurately express the truth concerning Monk Gautama.”
The ascetics burst out laughing. One said, “This bhikkhu must be newly ordained. He doesn’t possess the ability to answer our question.
No wonder he’s trying to avoid giving an answer. We’d better let him go.”
A few days later, Venerable Anuruddha presented the ascetics’ question to the Buddha and said, “Lord, please enlighten us so that we
can better answer such questions when they arise.”
The Buddha said, “Anuruddha, it is impossible to find Monk Gautama through conceptual knowledge. Where is Monk Gautama?
Anuruddha, can Gautama be found in form?”
“No, Lord.”
“Can Gautama be found in feelings?”
“No, Lord.”
“Can Gautama be found in perceptions, mental formations, or consciousness?”
“No, Lord.”
“Well then, Anuruddha, can Gautama be found outside of form?”
“No, Lord.”
“Can Gautama be found outside of feelings?”
“No, Lord.”
“Can Gautama be found outside of perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness?”
“No, Lord.”
The Buddha looked at Anuruddha. “Where then can you find Gautama? Anuruddha, right this moment as you stand before Gautama,
you cannot grab hold of him. How much less so after he dies! Anuruddha, the essence of Gautama, like the essence of all dharmas, cannot
be grasped by conceptual knowledge or in the categories of mental discrimination. One must see the dharmas in interdependent relation
with all other dharmas. You must see Gautama in all the dharmas normally thought of as non-Gautama, in order to see the true face of
Gautama.
“Anuruddha, if you want to see the essence of a lotus flower, you must see the lotus present in all the dharmas normally thought of as
non-lotus, such as the sun, pond water, clouds, mud, and heat. Only by looking in this way can we tear asunder the web of narrow views,
the web of mental discrimination which creates the prisons of birth, death, here, there, existence, non-existence, defiled, immaculate,
increasing, and decreasing. It is the same if you want to see Gautama. The ascetics’ four categories of existence, non-existence, both
existence and non-existence, and neither existence nor non-existence, are spiderwebs among spiderwebs which can never take hold of the
enormous bird of reality.
“Anuruddha, reality in itself cannot be expressed by conceptual knowledge or by written and spoken language. Only the understanding
which meditation brings can help us recognize the essence of reality. Anuruddha, a person who has never tasted a mango cannot know its
taste no matter how many words and concepts someone else uses to describe it to him. We can only grasp reality through direct
experience. That is why I have often told the bhikkhus not to lose themselves in useless discussion that wastes precious time better spent
looking deeply at things.
“Anuruddha, the nature of all dharmas is unconditioned and can be called suchness, tathata. Suchness is the wondrous nature of all
dharmas. From suchness the lotus arises. Anuruddha arises from suchness. Gautama arises from suchness. We can call someone who
arises from suchness a tathagata, or ‘one who thus comes.’ Arising from suchness, where do all dharmas return? All dharmas return to