..续本文上一页ould see it as a marvel, inasmuch as the Dhamma can”t be put in shop windows or in public places. This is because the true Dhamma lies in the heart and reveals itself only in words and deeds, which doesn”t excite a gratifying sense of absorption in the same way as touching the Dhamma directly with the heart.

　　Because there is no way to display the Dhamma directly, the Buddhas display it indirectly through teaching. They point out the causes — the Dhamma of conduct and practices leading to the Dhamma of results at this or that point or this or that level; and at the same time they proclaim the results — the excellence, the marvels of the stages and levels of the Dhamma that can be touched with the heart, all the way to the highest marvel, vimutti, the mental release called nibbana within the heart.

　　Every Buddha has to devise strategies in teaching the Dhamma so as to bring that marvel out to the world by using various modes of speech and conduct — for example, describing the Dhamma and showing the conduct of the Dhamma as being like this and that — but the actual Dhamma can”t be shown. It is something known exclusively in the heart, in the way in which each Buddha and each arahant possesses this marvel. None of the Buddhas, none of the arahants who possess this marvel are in any way deficient in this regard.

　　The marvel lies in their hearts — simply that they can”t take the marvel that appears there and display it in the full measure of its wonder. Thus they devise strategies for displaying it in their actions, which are simply attributes of the Dhamma, not the actual Dhamma itself. For instance, the doctrine they teach in the texts is simply an attribute of the Dhamma. Their act of teaching is also just an attribute of the Dhamma. The actual Dhamma is when a meditator or a person who listens to their teachings about the Dhamma follows the Dhamma in practice and touches it stage by stage within his or her own heart. This is called beginning to make contact with the actual Dhamma, step by step. However much contact is made, it gives a sense of gratification felt exclusively within the heart of the person who has gained that contact through his or her own practice.

　　When it comes to ingenuity in teaching, no one excels the Buddhas. Even so, they reveal only what they see as appropriate for humanity. They can”t reveal the actual Dhamma — for example, by taking out the true marvel in their hearts and unfolding it for the world to see, saying, ”This is the marvel of the Tathagata, of each Buddha. Do you see it

　　” This can”t be done, for here we”re talking about the marvel of the purity of a heart that was previously swamped with defilement like a heap of assorted excrement, but now has become a pure, unsullied nature, or a pure, amazing nature because of the practice of constantly and relentlessly cleansing it. They can”t show that Dhamma to the world, saying, ”Do you see this

　　 Look at it. Look at it. Feast your eyes till they”re full and then strive to make this treasure your own!” So instead, they teach by using various strategies for those who practice, describing the path in full detail, in terms both of causes and of results.

　　What they bring out to show is simply the current of their voices, the breath of their mouths. That”s what they bring out to speak, simply the breath of their mouths. They can”t bring out the real thing. For example, when they say, ”It”s marvelous like this,” it”s just sound. The marvelous nature itself can”t be brought out. All they can bring out is the action of saying, ”That nature is marvelous,” so that we can speculate for ourselves as to what that marvel is like. Even though this doesn”t remove our doubts, it”s better than if we had never heard about it at all.

　　But the basic principle in making us come…

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