(Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra)

   Having learned about the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, if Buddhist liberation denotes the total extinguishment of our five aggregates and eighteen elements, we might wonder, would it not be equal to reducing our existence to complete nothingness? In fact, during the First Turning of the Dharma Wheel, the Buddha also implicitly taught a permanent dharma through the Ten and Twelve Links of Dependent Origination. Among many others, the following incident recorded in the Agama sutras points to the insight of Nirvana.

(Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa)

  According to the sutra, “a truly enlightened mentor is very difficult to encounter.” How much more difficult it is then to encounter a buddha! Imagine yourself in the shoes of the five ascetics. Would you stay and contemplate the teachings, feel indifferent toward them, or walk away? The disciples who pursued the teachings of the Buddha provided us with an encouraging example of how one can achieve nirvanic liberation by following a virtuous and wholesome mentor. Let us think about what we would do if we encountered a buddha in our life.