Where have all the ancient masters gone now?

When a monk said to Master Namwon, “Where have all the ancient masters gone now?”, the master answered, “They have gone either to Heaven or Hell.” The monk asked again, “What about you then?” The master said, “Do you know what I mean?”

Student: “What did the master mean by ‘Do you know what I mean?’?”

Master: “If the monk didn’t know where the master was, the monk was not where the master was although they seemed to be together.”

Commentary:

Being with a rich person is quite different from being rich.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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