If you meet the Buddha on the road, it can't be the real Buddha because he died 2,500 years ago.  Therefore it might be a dangerous impostor who could do a lot of harm so it's best to kill him and do the world a favour.  Only kidding.

There’s a book by this title by some guy Kopp. I won’t look up the answer but off the top of my head …  

It must mean that we must ‘kill’ or wipe away or banish the idea or concept of the Buddha in our minds because that can’t be the ‘real’ Buddha.  We must strive to realize the Buddha in ourselves and not some false concept of what or who we think the Buddha is.

This doesn’t detract from the fact that we should try to recognize the Buddha in others, people we meet ‘on the road.’

I saw a buddha on the side of the road.

My first clue was a little whirlwind of sand and dirt as I turned the corner, so I stated looking for one.  He was walking along the other side of the road.  I saw him bristle as he *felt* me *feeling* him, even though his back was to me.  As I drove past, he contorted his body into a familiar defense posture, against spirits. 

I thought, *Ah ha, so its true.*  I knew he was an *awakened one*, who had detected the presence of another.

After I had finished my errands, I passed him again as he was hitch-hiking along the road going out of town.  We looked directly at each other, with recognition, and I knew that the moment was pivotal on my path as a shaman.  But I just drove past, and kept on going, because I had long since left my path as a shaman behind.

I saw a buddha on the side of the road.  I didnt kill him, I just ignored him.

"
.........

I suspect  you just saw your ghost...lol

Before awakening, Transcendental Meditation was my means, but Shamanism had been my end.  I felt I had a special relationship in the world of plants and animals, excluding mankind, that was shared by few.  I thought I had power.

Then with awakening, I came to understand that It, whatever It is or isnt, is in control of everything.  Whether you believe It to be a conscious entity, or an unconscious energy source, or force, the end result is the same.  It is as It is, by Its own means, for Its own purposes. 

A Hindu text that I consulted to see if Nirvana was the same as satori, said that some experience Nirvana as a conscious entity, and some do not, but rather as an unconscious force.  I believe that satori is the same as nirvana, and epiphany, etc.  Just depends on the religion that got you there.

If you are a buddhist, can you work this out?

Unmon said, "The world is vast and wide.
Why do you put on your seven-piece robe at the sound of the bell?"

Mumon's Comment
In studying Zen, you should not be swayed by sounds and forms.
Even though you attain insight when hearing a voice or seeing a form, this is simply the ordinary way of things.
Don't you know that the real Zen student commands sounds, controls forms, is clear-sighted at every event and free on every occasion?
Granted you are free, just tell me: Does the sound come to the ear or does the ear go to the sound?

If both sound and silence die away, at such a juncture how could you talk of Zen?
While listening with you ear, you cannot tell. When hearing with your eye, you are truly intimate.

Mumon's Verse

With realization, things make one family; Without realization, things are separated in a thousand ways. Without realization, things make one family; With realization, things are separated in a thousand ways.

all you see is you..

if you see a buddha

you think too much of yourself

kill the thought

youve killed the buddha

Quote: "Who or what you thought the Buddha is, kill that notion! Eliminate whatever ground of being so that the truth can be observed. "
.........

You cant see anything, whilst kissing a gurus feet.

Even a worm gets a better look at the bird that eats it.

I suppose this goes for pratyeka buddhas too, eh uncle zbishak ?

I have have to work on that.  Aside from a technical definition, what is it to be a buddha ?

there are no buddhas

just people who think there are

as a buddha has no attachement to a self

Is this a contradiction?

some are with  realization

some are without realization

a whole man would not be caught up with either

never a need for sorrow,

all is a part of the joy

when seriousness is abandoned sincerity fills the void