Self-nature | There Is No Suffering

People are often confused about enlightenment and self-nature. If, as Buddhism says, one leaves behind the erroneous belief in self-nature when one attains enlightenment, then how can enlightened beings have their own thoughts, feelings, and bodies? Does not a buddha who has a body, speaks and acts also have a self? After all, from our point of view, the Buddha appeared to be an individual, separate from other sentient beings. The answer is that there is a difference between self-nature and individuality. Indeed, each being, enlightened or not, has their own individuality. Shakyamuni could not have become the Buddha if he did not have a body and a personal history. However, if you perceive the physical and mental realms from the confines of your limited view of your self, then you are an ordinary sentient being. By transcending attachment to body, mind, and self-centeredness, enlightened beings eliminate their beliefs in an ultimate, static self-nature separate from other beings.

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