<p>For those attached to the form or personality of the Buddha, he taught to focus on the Dhamma (teachings) instead.</p>
<p>From <a href="https://suttacentral.net/sn22.87/en/bodhi" rel="noreferrer">Vakkali Sutta</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“For a long time, venerable sir, I have wanted to come to see the
Blessed One, but I haven’t been fit enough to do so.”</p>
<p>“Enough, Vakkali! Why do you want to see this foul body? One who sees
the Dhamma sees me; one who sees me sees the Dhamma. For in seeing the
Dhamma, Vakkali, one sees me; and in seeing me, one sees the Dhamma.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-29T14:24:20.100Z
Brilliant answer
SacrificialEquation
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-29T13:04:06.270Z
2021-03-29T13:27:10.027Z
2021-03-29T13:27:10.027Z
ruben2020
<p>This is (again) the old allegory of the finger pointing at the moon.</p>
<ul>
<li>When we are far away from the Buddha (at the beginning of the path) we just see the Buddha with his arm upraised</li>
<li>When we get closer we see that he is pointing at something, though we can't quite see what that is</li>
<li>When we get closer still, we start to get a sense of what he's pointing at, but we still look back to him to try to trace the path of his finger</li>
<li>When we are right beside him we suddenly see the moon, and we never need to look at the Buddha again</li>
</ul>
<p>The Buddha <em>is</em> the finger pointing at the moon, and while there's nothing wrong with showing reverence for that, he would not have wanted us to be stuck staring at <em>him</em> when there is a moon to be seen.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-31T06:17:12.717Z
2021-03-31T06:17:12.717Z
Ted Wrigley
<p>Worldly attachment is due to wrong view.  Per Noble 8 Fold Path, right view is to understand 4 Noble Truth, is not by attaching to Buddha; is to understand how the dhamma work, is not to attach to the dhamma because it is HIS teaching.
Attaching to Buddha has no benefit to us, as we are the one who walk the path of liberation, thus how can one have attachment to Buddha if we truly learn and practice what he said (dhamma)?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-05T06:08:29.500Z
2021-04-05T06:08:29.500Z
Mudita
<p>We Buddhists talk about non-attachment in our relationships, but after breaking all the samsaric attachments, how do we break the last attachment with the Buddha and may be also His teachings?</p>
<p>When the Buddha said '<em><strong>appo-dipo bhava</strong></em>' ('<em>be a light unto yourself</em>') is that what he is pointing towards?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-29T19:12:58.447Z
Would you not rather Ask why anyone might want to do that? Quite separately, how could  'appo-dipo bhava' ('be a light into yourself') affect the Question?
Robbie Goodwin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-29T19:58:46.840Z
Why is there an attachment with Buddha in the first place?
Mast
<personal-practice><the-buddha>
How do we break an attachment with the Buddha Himself?
# How do we break an attachment with the Buddha Himself?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-03-29)

We Buddhists talk about non-attachment in our relationships, but after breaking all the samsaric attachments, how do we break the last attachment with the Buddha and may be also His teachings?

When the Buddha said '***appo-dipo bhava***' ('*be a light unto yourself*') is that what he is pointing towards?

**Tags:** personal-practice, the-buddha

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Would you not rather Ask why anyone might want to do that? Quite separately, how could  'appo-dipo bhava' ('be a light into yourself') affect the Question?  
> **username_2**: Why is there an attachment with Buddha in the first place?  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2021-03-29. Score: 6

For those attached to the form or personality of the Buddha, he taught to focus on the Dhamma (teachings) instead.

From [Vakkali Sutta](https://suttacentral.net/sn22.87/en/bodhi):

> “For a long time, venerable sir, I have wanted to come to see the
> Blessed One, but I haven’t been fit enough to do so.”
>
> “Enough, Vakkali! Why do you want to see this foul body? One who sees
> the Dhamma sees me; one who sees me sees the Dhamma. For in seeing the
> Dhamma, Vakkali, one sees me; and in seeing me, one sees the Dhamma.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Brilliant answer  

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### Answer by username_5 on 2021-03-31. Score: 3

This is (again) the old allegory of the finger pointing at the moon.

* When we are far away from the Buddha (at the beginning of the path) we just see the Buddha with his arm upraised
* When we get closer we see that he is pointing at something, though we can't quite see what that is
* When we get closer still, we start to get a sense of what he's pointing at, but we still look back to him to try to trace the path of his finger
* When we are right beside him we suddenly see the moon, and we never need to look at the Buddha again

The Buddha *is* the finger pointing at the moon, and while there's nothing wrong with showing reverence for that, he would not have wanted us to be stuck staring at *him* when there is a moon to be seen.


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### Answer by username_6 on 2021-04-05. Score: 1

Worldly attachment is due to wrong view. Per Noble 8 Fold Path, right view is to understand 4 Noble Truth, is not by attaching to Buddha; is to understand how the dhamma work, is not to attach to the dhamma because it is HIS teaching.
Attaching to Buddha has no benefit to us, as we are the one who walk the path of liberation, thus how can one have attachment to Buddha if we truly learn and practice what he said (dhamma)?


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