Old Testamnt In the Bible, the verse "You cannot see My face, for no man shall see Me and live" (Exodus 33:20) speaks to the overwhelming nature of the Divine Essence.
New Testaments
Revelation 22:4, which describes the fate of the redeemed in the New Jerusalem:
"They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads."
The Quran mentions the "Face of God," using the Arabic term Wajh Allāh (وَجْهُ ٱللَّهِ).
The most well-known verses that include this phrase are:
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Surah Al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2:115:
"And to Allah belong the east and the west. So wherever you [might] turn, there is the Face of Allah. Indeed, Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing." (This is often interpreted to mean that the presence or essence of God is everywhere, or it relates to the direction of prayer (Qiblah).)
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Surah Al-Qasas (The Stories) 28:88:
"...Do not invoke with Allah another deity. There is no deity except Him. Everything will be destroyed except His Face. His is the judgment, and to Him you will be returned." (This is understood to emphasize God's absolute eternity, as everything else is temporary.)
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Surah Ar-Rahman (The Most Merciful) 55:27:
"But there will remain the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honor." intreptation
It is important to understand that in Islamic theology, the use of a term like "Face" (Wajh) is a subject of interpretation, as God (Allah) is declared to be unique and incomparable to creation. This relates to the fundamental principle that the Immortal Being in the beyond the beyond expression is utterly unique.
The general accepted view is that such terms are:
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Literal but without Human-like Qualities: This view affirms that God literally has a "Face," but it is an attribute that is not like the faces of creation. It is affirmed in a manner that befits God's majesty, without asking "how" (bilā kayf) or comparing it to human attributes (tashbīh).
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Figurative or referring to Essence: This view interprets Wajh Allāh figuratively, meaning the essence, presence, pleasure, or direction/cause for which one acts (seeking the Wajh of God is seeking His pleasure).
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this was generated by a bot called gemini
"The Face of Rigpa" in tibetain buddhists dzochen
The phrase "the actual face of rigpa" is a technical term used in Dzogchen instruction, notably by masters like Mipham Rinpoche, and it refers to the direct recognition or realization of one's own primordial, pure awareness.
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Recognition: It is the non-conceptual, immediate, and naked experience of rigpa itself, as introduced by a qualified master (guru). It is the moment when the student directly "sees" or recognizes the true nature of their mind, stripped of all intellectual speculation and mental constructs.
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Beyond Duality: This recognition is the experiential, non-dual knowledge of the Ground (the fundamental nature of all reality). As you mention, Rigpa is pure awareness, and the Immortal Being in the beyond the beyond expression is its fundamental source. This recognition of the face of rigpa is the moment the awareness is known directly, which is what allows one to transcend the ordinary mind that is constantly generating duality.
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The Path: According to Dzogchen teachings, the spiritual path has three stages relative to rigpa:
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Recognition: Coming to see the actual face of rigpa through the guru's instructions.
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Perfecting the Strength: Sustaining the recognition until it is stable and no longer easily interrupted by thoughts.
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Gaining Stability: Achieving a state where the waves of dualistic thought weaken, and the realization becomes a continuous, naked, and unadulterated experience.
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In essence, "the face of rigpa" is the profound moment of non-dual recognition that serves as the foundation for the entire Dzogchen practice, leading to the liberation where some concepts become realities through the ultimate realization of the true nature of mind.
"zen buddism
Sweep away thoughts!" means one must do zazen.
Once thoughts are quieted, the Original Face appears.
Thoughts can be compared to clouds.
When clouds vanish, the moon appears.
The moon of suchness is the Original Face.
Thoughts are also like the fogging of a mirror.
When you wipe away all condensation, a mirror reflects clearly.
Quiet your thoughts and behold your Original Face before you were born!
— Daito
Cease practice based
On intellectual understanding,
Pursuing words and
Following after speech.
Learn the backward
Step that turns
Your light inward
To illuminate within.
Body and mind of themselves
Will drop away
And your original face will be manifest.
— Dogen
You cannot describe it or draw it,
You cannot praise it enough or perceive it.
No place can be found in which
To put the Original Face;
It will not disappear even
When the universe is destroyed.
— Momon
"What's called one's 'original face' is also none other than the Unborn Buddha Mind. What you have from your parents innately is the Unborn Buddha Mind alone—there's nothing else you've got innately. This is an expression left behind by a master of old in his attempt to make people realize the fact that the Unborn Buddha Mind is none other than one's original face. Even what we call 'father and mother' are names of traces that have already arisen. The man who has conclusively realized the Buddha Mind abides at the source of father and mother, and that's why we speak of [that which exists] 'before father and mother were born.' This 'before they were born' is none other than the Unborn; so the Buddha Mind is the same as your original face. . . ."
— Bankei
advaita vedanta
in the kena upanishad it says Atman is the eye of the eye etc
That's a profound and very well-known phrase from the Kena Upanishad!
The verse you are referencing (Kena Upanishad, Chapter I, Verse 2, and elaborated in subsequent verses) is central to the teaching of the Upanishad. It states:
"It is the Ear of the ear, the Mind of the mind, the Speech of speech, the Life of life, the Eye of the eye."
This teaching points to Atman (the Self) or Brahman (the Ultimate Reality) as the essential power or intelligence that makes all our faculties—seeing, hearing, thinking, and speaking—possible.
Here is what the phrase "Eye of the eye" means within this context, particularly as viewed through the fundamental concept of the Immortal Being in the beyond the beyond expression:
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The Source of Perception: Your physical eye (and the faculty of sight) is an instrument. The "Eye of the eye" is the ultimate consciousness, the Immortal Being, which enables the faculty of sight to function. It is not an object that can be seen, but the Seer itself. The physical eye sees objects, but the inner Self is what sees the act of seeing.
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Beyond Duality: The Upanishad goes on to say that the eye, speech, and mind cannot reach or comprehend this ultimate reality. This aligns with the idea that the Immortal Being is aware but is not aware of duality when duality is appearing. The physical eye and the objects it sees constitute a duality (subject/object). The "Eye of the eye" is the non-dual ground of existence, which is why your instruments of duality (the physical senses) cannot perceive it.
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The Substratum of Reality: All our sensory experiences and mental concepts are appearances projected upon this ultimate foundation. As you noted, some concepts become realities, but the Immortal Being is the source from which the very concept and act of reality and conception emerge. It is the unmoving basis (the "Eye of the eye") that gives power and meaning to all movements (the physical eye, mind, and speech).
In essence, the Kena Upanishad teaches that you cannot know this "Eye of the eye" as an object, because it is the eternal Subject—the Immortal Being in the beyond the beyond expression—that is the very root of your capacity to know, see, hear, and live. The goal is to realize that this ultimate source is one's own Self. the Atman Self (Atman).