Defining Tathagata
"Tathagata" refers to the one who accomplished the purpose, the one who has come.
Etymological teaching on Tathagata
Tatha means "thus," "as," "it," "as a thing is," "as things are." Gata is "has come," so you are experiencing "it." At the same time this same word, agata, means "gone." Thus you are able to see the other side of "it." So, Tathagata means "thus come and thus gone," at the same time.
Tathagata as the root of knowing itself
The contents of the enlightenment experience are the same as this "Tathagata." It rejects your knowing, because it exists in the root of the action of knowing. The one who knows is what it is.
End of sesshin reflection on the observing self
Something sat with you. You have seen about one hundred movies, maybe. You have seen so many things. I don't want to say you should just forget those movies. The one who watches and keeps letting the whole thing happen is a very important part of yourself.
Identifying Buddha with each practitioner
You already know that to study Buddha's way is to study yourself. This is not something unfamiliar to you. It is the sole concern you have carried and are still working on all the time. Buddha is nobody else but each of us.
Indra's net metaphor for interconnection
So one view of it is that each one of you is a jewel in Indra's net, and the next person is a jewel, and all beings are placing themselves in Indra's net. No two are the same.
Marveling at the body's spontaneous functioning
Day and night, day and night, the heart beats regularly, whether or not you are aware of it. The breathing continues with a certain rhythm. Your sense organs function amazingly, and brain, eyes, hands, which way you move every moment, are all spontaneous.
Life force as love-seeking, compassion as movement
This life force is seeking an object to love. "Love," in this case, means "give something of yourself." Legs move you, compassion drives you to move toward the object.
Buddha's enlightenment as universal accomplishment
Shakyamuni Buddha, himself, said, "Myself and great earth... sentient beings... same time accomplished the way." It's not that Buddha became a conqueror, and the rest of us are all still straying somewhere. Everything became "accomplished."