In Roshi's words...

The Buddha was the most powerful of men

A great master, when asked about Buddha nature, replied, "When you meet the Buddha kill him." On another occasion, when asked who the Buddha was, he replied, "Ten pounds of flax"! To use everyday logic we must kill ten pounds of flax, when we meet ten pounds of flax. When we encounter something greater than ourselves we often limit it by trying to define it.

        A Buddha (fully awakened one) is hard for us to conceive. How could there be someone who knows who they are without telling us, or needing to tell anyone? How could there be someone so powerful that they don't need to overpower other people? How could someone be so kind that they don't need to hurt anyone?      

When we think of the powerful men of today we invariably think of presidents, heads of corporations and generals of armies: people who have great influence over the lives of others. At times, these people can control the destiny of others and determine whether fortunes are made or lives lost. In worldly terms, power is the ability to affect the lives of others. These men control the happiness of societies. At times, they control life and death.

     Ultimately, we talk of power in relationship to the ability to give and take away. We all have this kind of  power; we all can make others unhappy by our actions. We can also make them happy, by not doing something that harms them or by doing something that pleases them. The difficulty occurs when we try to harm someone (make them unhappy) and it does not work. We feel powerless. Conversely, when someone tries to harm us and they don't succeed, we say they are powerless over us. This thing of power is really about whether or not people can affect other people.

     The Buddha was powerful because he was happy all on his own. His happiness was not derived from how he controlled people or things. And people, or things, did not have the power to control him. For this reason, the Buddha is referred to as All Powerful. Happiness was not derived from others; suffering was not derived from others. Both happiness and suffering are derived from the self -- the true self, not the stuff of fantasy. Buddhas do not need anyone to tell them they are enlightened.

     When you meet Buddha kill him -- if you can.