Ever wondered what would have happened if Buddha and Adi Shankaracharya were on same boat in middle of ocean? What will they do? What will they talk?
One day a group was debating the difference between mukti concept of Adi Shankaracharya and Nirvana of Buddha. The teacher solved this problem with an analogy.
Lord Buddha and Adi Shankara were on the same boat and it left the harbour. It gradually reached the deep sea; from there one cannot see the shore.
Buddha looked upwards and seeing the vast empty space of the sky, he said: ‘Sarvam shunyam shunyam; everything is void, void.’
Shankara looked downwards and seeing the expansive water of the ocean, said: ‘Sarvam purnam purnam; everything is full, full.’
One saw the negative and the other, the positive. Both were in the same boat on the ocean, and each described their experience differently. Some see the same glass of water as half empty, and some as half-full. This illustration solved the debate.