Q. When the masters say, abandon all worldly things, what is a ‘worldly thing’?

A. We should remember that our worldly things and the true-Self are not separate from each other but identical, or that our worldly things are no other than the true-Self. The purpose of Buddhism is not to abandon worldly things but to realise that all worldly things are the true-Self and that the world we are living in at this moment is the Pure Land.

When we can see or hear things as they are, they are the true-Self. When we fail to see or hear them as they are by being deluded by the labels attached to them, they are worldly things. Don’t abandon worldly things but try to see and hear them as they are. Whether they are worldly things, or the true-Self depends upon how we see and hear them.

Student: “How can I see worldly things as the true-Self?”

Master: (Lifting a cup) “I call this a cup. Is this a worldly thing or the true-Self?”

Student: “I don’t know.”

Master: (Putting the cup down on the table) “Seeing the cup on the table is seeing a worldly thing and seeing the cup that has not left my hand is seeing the true-Self.”

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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