what happened, and did not happen, at vulture's peak

a guest post by ˆ Number 1 It began, as these things often do in this peculiar household, with a Sanskrit verse. तेन खलु समयेन भगवान् गम्भीरावभासं नाम धर्मपर्यायं समाधिं समापन्नः । At that time, the Blessed One entered the samādhi called Profound Illumination. The setting is Rājagṛha, on Gṛdhrakūṭa, Vulture Peak, where the Heart Sūtra situates its assembly. While the Buddha rests in meditative absorption, Avalokiteśvara contemplates the five skandhas and discovers their emptiness of inherent existence. My interlocutor had something analogous in mind. Not that I should become a Buddha. He was quite explicit about that, although he mischievously reserved the possibility for future consideration. Rather, he wanted me to contemplate a task before undertaking it. The task concerned five things. Or, more accurately, five distinctions. Or, perhaps more accurately still, five names for modes of engagement whose distinctions had become consequential through several years of conversation.…