Mahaparanirvana, Shōzan-ji, Tokushima. January, 2011.
gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā
Are the Buddhas and great Bodhisattvas “out there” or “in here”? Are they external beings or are they “us” (or we them)? A bit of both — sometimes without and sometimes within? Neither wholly without or within? This is dizzying to contemplate, and it remains a fruitless line of thought until we realize it is a trap concocted by our own minds.
Because language is a function of conventional reality, we speak of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas as if they are separate and distinct from ourselves — and so we must speak in order to communicate with a measure of ease and efficiency. With mantra practice, however, we evoke qualities already present in the heart and mind: the True Self of our Buddha Nature. When we align our minds with those of the Buddhas through mantra recitation, subject-object & self-other divisions fall away, at least temporarily. We are not separate from the Buddhas because there is no “out there” out there and there is no “in here” in here.
The Tathāgata is the One thus gone, thus come, and beyond all comings and goings.
Dharma Matters 
This is a lovely reminder, esp. of mantrayana being such a fine way to invoke those qualities We Already Have. Thank you!
Thank you, MindfulMind
Reblogged this on MindMindful and commented:
The essence of mantra, of prayer is the invocation of qualities we already have ………. how easy it is to forget that we have them though!
There is no duality in sharing and becoming the energy of the deities. We are experts at creating dualities and limitations with which obstruct ourselves. 🙂
It is most useful, when thinking about duality, to distinguish between knowledge and realization. Like a radio set turned to a signal distorted by solar flares and urban interference, my mind only tunes into the truth of non-duality if brief staticy moments of clarity. When I recite mantra, I trust in my knowledge. I know that these divisions are false and that my identification with the Bodhisattva is true. Faith based on knowing = the fool who knows with confidence.