The Buddha at the time of his imminent death from old age, said to his followers :?

Question

"If you meet the Buddha on the road : KILL HIM!"

What would anyone interested, interpret from this seemingly vehemently violent utterance, from "the enlightened" teacher?

Answer 1

No Buddhist thinks he meant to literally kill someone. What most take is that he meant the Buddha and the path lie within yourself they are not external. People tend to seek perfection from outside themselves first rather than perfecting themselves from the inside out. They also tend to want to seek out others to show them the way and give them the answers in life. Buddha taught that while there may be those who can guide you on the path, ultimately the answers are within you and only you can actually walk the path. Attaching yourself to some external authority figure is not the way. This is what I take and have gleaned from talking with Buddhists about this quote.

Answer 2

These are the last words of the Buddha my friend:

"Behold, O monks, this is my last advice to you. All component things in the world are changeable. They are not lasting. Work hard to gain your own salvation. Do your best. "

You are mistaken, these are the words of a Zen buddhism monk. They are paradoxical and say alot of things which don't make sense to the untrained eye.

A monk [whose first precept is not to harm another being, let alone the enlightened one!] will obviously not tell you to kill something without reason, you must therefore examine all teachings and search for the true nature/meaning of them. Things are not as they first appear, and you shouldn't jump in and do something you're told without first analyzing it.

~You~ do not 'see' a buddha (There is no 'me' or self ultimately)- buddhahood is realised: so if there is a perciever then you are mistaken and must irradicate these delusions, as everything is ultimately united as one and nothing, with no ideas of separation or difference. Your senses all lie to you, and buddhahood is far beyond the sensual world. Killing in this case I believe means to not posess or hold onto [ideas of a separate buddha], if you wish to become enlightened at least...

Answer 3

Honestly... I didn't even read this question yet... Sorry, I have to go now... but I will come back and answer it later.

but I would like to use it as an oppurtunity to thank you for your explanation of the last question you asked on Dickinson: in your response to my very wrong reply. Your answer stunned me, and made me sit back and sigh... Very, very beautiful and very insightful! You checked my neck so to speak...

Thanks for enlightening and humbling me!

It was my pleasure to be made publicly wrong by such a mind as yours! First time in a long time I feel like thanking someone for making me look stupid (im not implying it was done with intent, but it was done none the less... *Smiles...

I came back to answer your Buddah question now...

The answer is... The same as the reason I came back to thank you for inadvertantly making me look dumb.

Sometimes, we look too hard for outside influences to teach us what we already know how to be within ourselves. We are all already the buddah.... In killing the man we meet along the roadside, we kill that secondary aspect of ourselves that is always seeking external approval and understanding. It tells us how we are all buddah... and it is also what Jesus taught as well.

You reminded me of that today... Thanks again.

Not everything is all about me, how I percieve things... or you, or us, or them. Everything just is. So to kill the buddah, is to kill the self or the Ego and the external judgement of everything we percieve to be outside ourselves. Nothing is outside ourselves...and no knowledge or understanding is seperate or held apart from any one of us.

(I do have a rather large Ego and most of the time it is quite un- merited.) It is a defense mechanisim for my own feelings of inadequacy... You brought me down to earth tonight... Thanks!

I am a student of life through many teachers, Buddah is one of them but I also love Ailce Bailey who teaches something similar from a more Western point of view.

We all interact and teach and learn from one another... I think that is what makes us each special and not so special at all at the very same time...

God... I hope this one is right... I don;t thin I can take too much humble pie in one sitting... *smiles.

I am a little less jaded and a lot more centered tonight thanks to you! Errr... Ummm, I mean, thanks to me and you and everything and nothing at all... There... I just killed the buddah.

Bows and exits...

Answer 4

What Kenshao said.

I can only assume that the words were meant to serve as a warning against those who would falsely claim to be Buddah. Your life is forfeit, kind of thing.

Answer 5

I dunno.
I give him lettuce every morning and rub Hotei's belly.

Then I look at Siddhartha and show him my Mudras of meditation and teachings.

Answer 6

Acxtually he said "i'll save you a seat at the feast of freedom"

Answer 7

inside... seek.