A. Originally everything is the Buddha, and there is nothing else except the Buddha, which we have divided into many by using imaginary lines and put labels on them. Even though each of the many appears to be different from one another and has a different name, all of them are essentially the same as the Buddha. When we, not aware of this fact, think of the many diverse forms and names as real and attach ourselves to them, the forms and names are referred to as illusions. In fact, although everything that we see and hear is the Buddha, we don’t recognise it because we are deluded by illusions. So, ancient masters would say that the Buddha is hidden in illusions. This is why it is said that all illusions are seeds of the Buddha.
Student: “How can I distinguish an illusion from the Buddha when I see something?”
Master: “What changes is an illusion, and what doesn’t change is the Buddha.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
#zen #meditation #zenmeditation #enlightened #enlightenment #zenfools #photography
Zen Fools 