ALL EXISTENCE IS SPIRITUAL

  THERE was an officer among the retinue of Simha who had heard of the

discourses of the Blessed One, and there was some doubt left in his

heart. This man came to the Blessed One and said: "It is said, O Lord,

that the samana Gotama denies the existence of the soul. Do they who

say so speak the truth, or do they bear false witness against the

Blessed One

  And the Blessed One said: "There is a way in which those who say

so are speaking truly of me; on the other hand, there is a way in

which those who say so do not speak truly of me. The Tathagata teaches

that there is no self. He who says that the soul is his self and

that the self is the thinker of our thoughts and the actor of our

deeds, teaches a wrong doctrine which leads to confusion and darkness.

On the other hand, the Tathagata teaches that there is mind. He who

understands by soul mind, and says that mind exists, teaches the truth

which leads to clearness and enlightenment."

  The officer said: "Does, then, the Tathagata maintain that two

things exist? that which we perceive with our senses and that which is

mental?"

  Said the Blessed One: "I say to thee, thy mind is spiritual, but

neither is the sense-perceived void of spirituality. The bodhi is

eternal and it dominates all existence as the good law guiding all

beings in their search for truth. It changes brute nature into mind,

and there is no being that cannot be transformed into a vessel of

truth."