Sublime

D. T. Suzuki, the previous translator of the Lankavatara, put it this way, “The reason why Bodhidharma handed this sutra to Hui-k’ o as containing the essence of Zen Buddhism must be sought in this, that the constant refrain of the Lankavatara is the all-importance of an inner perception (pratyamagati) or self-realization (svasiddhanta).” (Studies

The apparent paradox of nirvana haunts all religious conceptions of eternity. Absolute fullness is inseparable from absolute emptiness and absolute presence is inseparable from absolute absence. My argument is that we should reject the idea that such a state of being is a goal worth striving for.

(Paul Reps, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones,