“Make of yourself a light. Rely upon yourself. Do not depend on anyone else. Make my teachings your light. Rely upon them. Do not depend upon any other teaching.” Shakyamuni Buddha, Mahaparinibbana Sutra
As I read these words spoken by the Buddha as part of his final teaching before passing into Nirvana, I was surprised because they sound isolating. I thought we were interdependent and interconnected, and here the Buddha is saying rely on yourself, and only use these teachings.
But what I think the Buddha is trying to do here is take himself as an individual out of the process, to show the sangha that they can go on without him, and that they should center themselves and trust their inner light as a guide in the process of awakening. And to nurture this light, they should focus not on the teach-er but on the teach-ings.
The Buddha says, “The teachings which I have given you, I gained by following the path myself… If you neglect them, it means that you have never really met me. It means that you are far from me, even if you are actually with me; but if you accept and practice my teachings, then you are very near to me, even though you are far away.”
The Buddha is rejecting the idea that he is this guru, that just being near him as part of the sangha is a bonus, that he can magically transmit Enlightenment to those who sit at his feet. Living life through the teachings is what brings you together with the Buddha. What makes you feel close is that shared spirit, that shared light.
The Buddha assures the sangha that “a human body must die, but the Wisdom of Enlightenment will exist forever in the truth of the Dharma, and in the practice of the Dharma. One who sees merely my body does not truly see me. Only one who accepts my teaching truly sees me.”
Earlier the Buddha had talked about the teachings as bringing you near to him (vs. far). Now he says that seeing him is not about seeing his body. The teachings survive his human form, and the dharma is a universal path for everyone, everywhere. When we focus on the dharma, we are near the Buddha, we see the Buddha, even if the Buddha is far, and even if the Buddha’s body is gone.
Over time, I believe the teachings have been enriched and transformed by all the lights along the path, people like Shinran, other Buddhist followers, all our dharma friends, any person who took the teachings into their hearts and passed it on.
The teachings do not stand on their own in these books. The teachings aren’t there for you to only learn about intellectually. The light of the Dharma moves through you, lives through you, and through you is passed on to others.
I admit, it’s hard for me to say something like “I make of myself a light,” because I feel like my ego might enjoy that kind of thinking a little too much. But I do know that when I make the teachings a light, I am guided by them, and I do feel close to the Buddha. I hope you’ll consider how the teachings guide your light.