No matter how enlightened one may think he or she is, one must not be disrespectful to representations of holy beings no matter what form they may take. I have noticed that some people have a tendency to be more respectful to holy images from their own culture and not so much to representations of Buddhas and/or Bodhisattvas from other cultures. I do not think this is correct either. In America we have Tibetan Buddhas and Thai Buddhas; Chinese Bodhisattvas and Mexican Bodhisattvas; and so on. The Buddha Master once told me that not all Bodhisattvas are Buddhist. Some may appear to be very ordinary living beings. We should be very careful.
Erroneous View #60: Acknowledging that one who has illuminated one’s mind and seen one’s original nature through experiential realization does not have to be respectful to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and make offerings to Their images. Those with this view think, “I have understood my mind and seen my original nature. I have penetrated the truth that the four great elements are all empty. I have penetrated the truth that all conditioned dharmas are like a dream, illusion, bubble and shadow, like morning dew and like lightening. Why, then, is that clay statue of a Bodhisattva even worth mentioning?” Thus, a person with that view does not even worship such a statue when entering a temple. This is not right. One should make offerings in front of the paintings and statues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. One must worship the images of Buddhas, such as by prostrating, kowtowing, or kneeling. Regardless of how much you have understood your mind and seen your original nature, you still must make offerings and show respect to those images. If one does not respect such worldly forms, one has fallen into the deluded thinking of demons. This is a very serious erroneous view and basically can be categorized as an evil view.
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