Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (35)

The water element in the physical body cannot be clung to

The nature of the water element is utterly unattainable. If we wanted to keep the water element within the physical body, could we keep it? We cannot. All dharmas within the physical body are utterly unattainable; they are all empty. We cannot grasp them, nor can we cling to them. Therefore, when the four great elements decompose at the time of death, the water element likewise decomposes. Even if we wish to cling to it and keep it within the physical body, it cannot be retained. Both this water element and the nature of the water element are utterly unattainable; only the Buddha's wisdom can fully know them—the wisdom of us sentient beings is insufficient. Of all the dharmas the Buddha taught, we can only understand a small portion, and then expound that small portion to sentient beings. There are many dharmas the Buddha taught that we cannot yet fully understand and realize, let alone the dharmas the Buddha has not yet spoken. Thus our wisdom is far, far removed from the Buddha's wisdom.