eurydice,
> WHO GAVE THE BUDDHA TRANSMISSION?
Let me tell you a story.
Some years after Pierre Fermat died (1665) somebody was rummaging through
one of his math book and ran across something Fermat had written in the
margin of a page. It was a simply stated theorem along with the note that he
had a proof of the theorem. But the proof was never found. The problem
became one of the most celebrated in the history of math. The problem was
beguiling for a number of reasons--it pierced deep into the heart of math,
it was simply stated and Fermat claimed he had solved it.
Fermat was a amateur mathematician but had a deserved international
reputation of being somewhat formidable at math. So Fermat wouldn't have
made his claim lightly. The problem (known as Fermat's Last Theorem) was to
prove (or disprove) his conjecture. It can be understood by anyone with a
8th grade education. Countless prizes have been offered for a solution.
Uncounted numbers of people devoted their lives to solving the problem.
Numbers of famous mathematicians have nearly gone mad struggling with the
thing.
In 1994, after 329 years, Andrew Wiles solved the problem.
> Once you answer that question, you penetrate the diamond.
Not really. I just find out how hard the diamond is. I'm not capable of
solving Fermat's Last Theorem on my own, so if I needed to I'd look at
Wiles' proof. And likewise, I'm probably not capable of attaining
enlightenment on my own, so I'd seek out someone who was knowledgeable to
give me some direction.
> So I question who has the authority to grant or not grant
> mind-transmission, or certify enlightenment, when Shakyamuni himself
> achieved it by himself.
And a good question it is--strikes right at the heart of the conundrum.
Shakyamuni did it by himself, maybe you can, I probably can't.
Nelson
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