I like this quote but does anyone know who translated it and the source of that text?



Subhuti asked: "Is perfect wisdom beyond thinking? Is it unimaginable and totally unique but nevertheless reaching the unreachable and attaining the unattainable?"

The Buddha replied: "Yes, Subhuti, it is exactly so. And why is perfect wisdom beyond thinking? It is because all its points of reference cannot be thought about but can be apprehended. One is the disappearance of the self-conscious person into pure presence. Another is the knowing of the essenceless essence of all things in the world. And another is luminous knowledge that knows without a knower. None of these points can sustain ordinary thought because they are not objects or subjects. They can't be imagined or touched or approached in any way by any ordinary mode of consciousness, therefore they are beyond thinking."
2 Responses
  1. Fabrice Says:

    Isn't "the disappearance of the self-conscious person into pure presence" implicitly equivalent to "luminous knowledge that knows without a knower"?


  2. Soh Says:

    It depends on the definition. A person who has experienced impersonality and I AMness also talks about disappearance of an individuality into pure presence, a pure sense of existence that is oceanic. The realization that there is no subject-object split is another form of realisation. All these qualities are important and are further brought to maturation with the insight into anatta, dependent origination and emptiness.

    There's a summary by Thusness in 2009 on the different aspects of Presence:



    When there is simply a pure sense of existence;
    When awareness appears mirror like;
    When sensations become pristine clear and bright;
    This is luminosity.

    When all arising appear disconnected;
    When appearance springs without a center;
    When phenomena appears to be on their own without controller;
    This is no doer-ship.

    When subject/object division is seen as illusion;
    When there is clarity that no one is behind thoughts;
    When there is only scenery, sounds, thoughts and so forth;
    This is anatta.

    When phenomena appears pristinely crystal;
    When there is merely one seamless experience;
    When all is seen as Presence;
    This is non-dual Presence.

    When we feel fully the unfindability and unlocatability of phenomena;
    When all experiences are seen as ungraspable;
    When all mind boundaries of in/out, there/here, now/then dissolve;
    This is Emptiness.

    When interconnectedness of everything is wholly felt;
    When arising appears great, effortless and wonderful;
    When presence feels universe;
    This is Maha.

    When arising is not caged in who, where and when;
    When all phenomena appear spontaneous and effortless;
    When everything appears right every where, every when;
    This is spontaneous perfection.

    Seeing these as the ground of all experiences;
    always and already so;
    This is wisdom.

    Experiencing the ground in whatever arises;
    This is practice.

    Happy journey. :)