When a monastic asked Master Tooja, “What is the true-Self?”, the master descended from the high seat. When another monastic asked the master, “How far is it from a saint to a sentient being?”, he also descended from the high seat.
Student: “Why did the master just descend from the high seat without answering whenever he was asked a question?”
Master: “Don’t mistake his compassion for misbehaviour.”
Student: “What is the distance between a saint and a sentient being?”
Master: “Answering makes it far.”
Student: “Does not answering make it closer?”
Master: “It makes it further.”
Commentary:
The difference between answering and not answering is the distance between a saint and a sentient being.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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