Flower Shower
Subhuti was sitting in a cave.
The Buddha appeared and offered him a celestial flower shower as reward for his profound understanding of emptiness.
Subhuti said,
"
I did not think, 'I have attained profound understanding.' If I had such a thought, the Tathagata would not have declared me foremost in understanding emptiness." The Buddha said,
"Just so."
Reflection
Subhuti, recognised for his profound understanding of emptiness, receives a flower shower from the Buddha. Yet he denies any thought of attainment. The story underscores that genuine emptiness includes the emptiness of the one who knows. If a self were present to claim realization, it would not be true emptiness. The reward itself reveals the absence of a separate self.