SHIH-FU:

People who are fully enlightened have wisdom and merit, but they do not perceive it as such. If they thought, "We have wisdom and merit, " then that would mean they are still attached to a self, and they would not be truly liberated. Their wisdom and merit are perceived by others who come to them for guidance. It is the perception of other beings that these people have wisdom and merit, not that of the enlightened beings themselves.

STUDENT:

Why would someone want to go beyond universal self to no-self?

SHIH-FU:

Remember, these terms are invented for us to talk about the experiences of practitioners. If there were actually a "no-self" to attain, it would just be another kind of self. The same is true for large self. Practitioners would spend all their time chasing after attractive false selves.

Who would want to go beyond universal self? People who want to experience Buddhist enlightenment. They want to experience genuine liberation. However, once they reach that stage, they will not feel that they are at that stage. In fact, they return to the everyday world, but with no attachments.