"The reality is unknown; the reality is unnamed. The reality is, but indefinable. It IS; it is felt. We are part of it; we encounter it everywhere. Wheresoever you move, you move in reality; you live every moment in it; you participate in it every moment. It is not something different from you, you are not something different from it, but still you cannot name it, you cannot pinpoint it, you cannot give it a label. What is it?

"This is a problem for a religious mind. It is not a problem for a philosophical mind; the philosopher can say it is existence, naked, pure – it is absolute. For a Heidegger it is not a problem; he can call it simple ‘is-ness,’ being. For a shankara it is not a problem; he can call it the supreme, the absolute, the brahman. But these are not basically religious types. "For a religious person it becomes a problem, because unless he can name it he cannot be related to it; unless he can personify it he cannot feel the relatedness. The intimacy is impossible with a pure ‘is-ness.’ An intimate relationship is not possible with something absolute, with something just like a concept. Being, brahman – how can you feel related with being, with brahman, with ‘is-ness,’ with existence? Relationship is only possible when you personify it. That is the basic difference between philosophical speculation and religious search.

"Religion is in search of an intimate relationship with existence; it is not only speculation. For a religious man it is going to be life itself. Philosophy seeks in terms of knowledge, religion in terms of love. When you are seeking in terms of knowledge, you can be an observer, an onlooker. But you are not a participant, you are not deep in it – you are just an outsider. A philosopher is basically an outsider; he goes on thinking, but from without. He will not enter into a deep relationship. He will not get involved, he will not be committed. But religion is nothing if it is not a commitment; religion is nothing if it is not an intimate love relationship. So how to change existence into a love object? This sutra is concerned with this."