"Now in the midst of the assembly was the Venerable Subhuti. Forthwith he arose, uncovered his right shoulder, knelt upon his right knee, and, respectfully raising his hands with palms joined, addressed Buddha thus: World-Honored One, if good men and good women seek… [Complete and Perfect Enlightenment], …by what criteria should they abide and how should they control their thoughts?

… Buddha said: Subhuti, all the Bodhisattva-Heroes should discipline their thoughts as follows: All living creatures of whatever class, born from eggs, from wombs, from moisture, or by transformation whether with form or without form, whether in a state of thinking or exempt from thought-necessity, or wholly beyond all thought realms all these are caused by Me to attain Unbounded Liberation Nirvana. Yet when vast, uncountable, immeasurable numbers of beings have thus been liberated, verily no being has been liberated. Why is this, Subhuti? It is because no Bodhisattva who is a real Bodhisattva cherishes the idea of an ego-entity, a personality, a being, or a separated individuality."

(The Diamond Sutra - tr. by A.F.Price and Wong Mou-Lam)

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In this podcast:

• The Diamond Sutra in its historical context

• Who is Subhuti?

• An explanation of the four modes of birth and its relationship to dependent origination; its links to No-Self and Emptiness

• Investigating consciousness beyond the notion of ‘myself’.

• Nesting selves and extended being

• Corporeal and incorporeal beings as interacting and interpenetrating.

• What this means in practice.

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