Subhūti replied, “Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of physical forms become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than physical forms become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in physical forms, how could physical forms be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of physical forms become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of feelings become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than feelings become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in feelings, how could feelings be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of feelings become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of perceptions become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than perceptions become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in perceptions, how could perceptions be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of perceptions become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of formative predispositions become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than formative predispositions become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in formative predispositions, how could formative predispositions be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of formative predispositions become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of consciousness become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than consciousness become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in consciousness, how could consciousness be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of consciousness become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the eyes become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the eyes become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the eyes, how could the eyes be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the eyes become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the ears become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the ears become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the ears, how could the ears be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the ears become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the nose become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the nose become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the nose, how could the nose be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the nose become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the tongue become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the tongue become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the tongue, how could the tongue be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the tongue become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the body become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the body become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the body, how could the body be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the body become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, how could the designation of the mental faculty become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the mental faculty become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the mental faculty, how could the mental faculty be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the mental faculty become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, how could sights become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than sights become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in sights, how could sights be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of sights become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of sounds become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than sounds become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in sounds, how could sounds be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of sounds become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of odors become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than odors become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in odors, how could odors be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of odors become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of tastes become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than tastes become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in tastes, how could tastes be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of tastes become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of tangibles become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than tangibles become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in tangibles, how could tangibles be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of tangibles become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of mental phenomena become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than mental phenomena become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in mental phenomena, how could mental phenomena be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of mental phenomena become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the sensory element of the eyes become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the sensory element of the eyes become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the sensory element of the eyes, how could the sensory element of the eyes be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the sensory element of the eyes become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the sensory element of sights become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the sensory element of sights become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the sensory element of sights, how could the sensory element of sights be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the sensory element of sights become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the sensory element of visual consciousness become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the sensory element of visual consciousness become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the sensory element of visual consciousness, how could the sensory element of visual consciousness be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the sensory element of visual consciousness become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the sensory element of the ears become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the sensory element of the ears become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the sensory element of the ears, how could the sensory element of the ears be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the sensory element of the ears become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the sensory element of sounds become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the sensory element of sounds become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the sensory element of sounds, how could the sensory element of sounds be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the sensory element of sounds become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the sensory element of auditory consciousness become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the sensory element of auditory consciousness become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the sensory element of auditory consciousness, how could the sensory element of auditory consciousness be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the sensory element of auditory consciousness become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the sensory element of the nose become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the sensory element of the nose become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the sensory element of the nose, how could the sensory element of the nose be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the sensory element of the nose become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the sensory element of odors become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the sensory element of odors become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the sensory element of odors, how could the sensory element of odors be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the sensory element of odors become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the sensory element of olfactory consciousness become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the sensory element of olfactory consciousness become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the sensory element of olfactory consciousness, how could the sensory element of olfactory consciousness be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the sensory element of olfactory consciousness become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the sensory element of the tongue become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the sensory element of the tongue become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the sensory element of the tongue, how could the sensory element of the tongue be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the sensory element of the tongue become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the sensory element of tastes become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the sensory element of tastes become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the sensory element of tastes, how could the sensory element of tastes be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the sensory element of tastes become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the sensory element of gustatory consciousness become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the sensory element of gustatory consciousness become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the sensory element of gustatory consciousness, how could the sensory element of gustatory consciousness be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the sensory element of gustatory consciousness become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the sensory element of the body become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the sensory element of the body become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the sensory element of the body, how could the sensory element of the body be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the sensory element of the body become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the sensory element of tangibles become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the sensory element of tangibles become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the sensory element of tangibles, how could the sensory element of tangibles be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the sensory element of tangibles become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the sensory element of tactile consciousness become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the sensory element of tactile consciousness become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the sensory element of tactile consciousness, how could the sensory element of tactile consciousness be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the sensory element of tactile consciousness become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the sensory element of the mental faculty become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the sensory element of the mental faculty become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the sensory element of the mental faculty, how could the sensory element of the mental faculty be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the sensory element of the mental faculty become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the sensory element of mental phenomena become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the sensory element of mental phenomena become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the sensory element of mental phenomena, how could the sensory element of mental phenomena be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the sensory element of mental phenomena become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the sensory element of mental consciousness become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the sensory element of mental consciousness become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the sensory element of mental consciousness, how could the sensory element of mental consciousness be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the sensory element of mental consciousness become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the earth element become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the earth element become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the earth element, how could the earth element be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the earth element become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the water element become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the water element become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the water element, how could the water element be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the water element become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the fire element become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the fire element become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the fire element, how could the fire element be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the fire element become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the wind element become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the wind element become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the wind element, how could the wind element be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the wind element become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the space element become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the space element become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the space element, how could the space element be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the space element become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the consciousness element become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the consciousness element become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the consciousness element, how could the consciousness element be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the consciousness element become a bodhisattva?
“Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of ignorance become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than ignorance become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in ignorance, how could ignorance be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of ignorance become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of formative predispositions become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than formative predispositions become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in formative predispositions, how could formative predispositions be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of formative predispositions become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of consciousness become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than consciousness become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in consciousness, how could consciousness be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of consciousness become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of name and form become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than name and form become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in name and form, how could name and form be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of name and form become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the six sense fields become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the six sense fields become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the six sense fields, how could the six sense fields be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the six sense fields become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of sensory contact become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than sensory contact become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in sensory contact, how could sensory contact be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of sensory contact become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of sensation become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than sensation become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in sensation, how could sensation be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of sensation become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of craving become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than craving become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in craving, how could craving be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of craving become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of grasping become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than grasping become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in grasping, how could grasping be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of grasping become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of the rebirth process become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than the rebirth process become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in the rebirth process, how could the rebirth process be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of the rebirth process become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of birth become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than birth become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in birth, how could birth be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of birth become a bodhisattva? Blessed Lord, if bodhisattvas are absolutely nonexistent and are not apprehended, then how could the designation of aging and death become a bodhisattva, how could anything other than aging and death become a bodhisattva, how could a bodhisattva be in aging and death, how could aging and death be in a bodhisattva, and how could the absence of aging and death become a bodhisattva?