PACIFIC WORLD - The Institute of Buddhist Studies

108Pacific Worldthrough the Buddha’s enormous accumulation of merit. At the same time,the ephemeral image of the jeweled throne—representing bodhi-knowledge—thatMårå claims but is unable to capture, also conveys whatBuddhists have, in different times and places, and through varying methodsand language, sought to teach. This jeweled throne of bodhi-knowledgecan only be attained through recognition of the impermanence ofexistence and of identity as the true nature of the world, a knowledgethat cannot be represented at all, since it is beyond the grasp of humanimagination.