Subhuti asked: “Is perfect wisdom beyond thinking? Is it unimaginable and totally unique but nevertheless reaching the unreachable and attaining the unattainable?”

The Buddha replied, “Yes, Subhuti, it is exactly so. And why is perfect wisdom beyond thinking? It is because all its points of reference cannot be thought about but can be apprehended.

“One is the disappearance of the self-conscious person into pure essence. Another is the simple awakening to reality. Another is the knowing of the essenceless essence of all things in the world. And another is luminous knowledge that knows without a knower.

“None of these points can sustain ordinary thought because they are not objects of subjects. They can’t be imagined or touched or approached in any way by any ordinary mode of consciousness, therefore, they are beyond thinking.”