I see what you mean.
ajahn chah also speaks of “being one with the dhamma”
but unfortunately i feel this is as far as logic can take us.
these things have to be verified by practice.
This is where Venerables Puññaji & Dōgen meet. They both approach the rock comparison from different angles, but arrive at similar conclusions. A Buddha is, at the very least, quite like a rock. A sentient being is, at the very least, quite like a rock.
Of course, the above doesn’t need to be agreed with.
They are simply “such(tādisa)”
The earth element internally and the earth element externally. What is the difference?
Isn’t there a sutta comparing the earth element internally to the earth element externally? I am half-remembering reading something from here once.
Maha-Rahulovada Sutta
"And what is the earth property? The earth property can be either internal or external. What is the internal earth property?}[3] Anything internal, within oneself, that’s hard, solid, & sustained [by craving]: head hairs, body hairs, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, tendons, bones, bone marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, membranes, spleen, lungs, large intestines, small intestines, contents of the stomach, feces, or anything else internal, within oneself, that’s hard, solid, and sustained: This is called the internal earth property. Now both the internal earth property & the external earth property are simply earth property. And that should be seen as it actually is present with right discernment: ‘This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.’ When one sees it thus as it actually is present with right discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the earth property and makes the earth property fade from the mind.
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Or MN28 The Longer Simile of the Elephant’s Footprint
Mahāhatthipadopamasutta
And what is the earth element? The earth element may be interior or exterior. And what is the interior earth element? Anything hard, solid, and organic that’s internal, pertaining to an individual. This includes: head hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, bone marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, diaphragm, spleen, lungs, intestines, mesentry, undigested food, feces, or anything else hard, solid, and organic that’s internal, pertaining to an individual. This is called the interior earth element. The interior earth element and the exterior earth element are just the earth element. This should be truly seen with proper understanding like this: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.’ When you really see with proper understanding, you become disillusioned with the earth element, detaching the mind from the earth element.
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