Upon finishing his begging, he returned to his dwelling and ate. He put away his robe and bowl, washed his feet, laid down a mat, and sat on it.
Commentary:
No matter what the Buddha did, the purpose of his actions was to lead people to realise the true-Self. Putting away his robe and bowl, washing his feet, laying down a mat, and sitting on it are not exceptions.
Once there was a monk who was under a famous master for a long time. He thought that the master didn’t give him any teachings and begged him for teachings. The master promised to do so every time he was begged to by the monk. However, to the monk’s disappointment, the master’s attitude towards him was the same as usual. He still didn’t do anything special to meet the monk’s expectation for such a long time that the monk’s patience wore out. He was determined to leave the master for another master and said to him, “I am going to leave you since you have never given me any teachings, even though I have been with you for over ten years.” The master solemnly responded, “How dare you say that I’ve not taught you anything? When you served meals to me, I taught you by eating them. When you brought me tea, I taught you by drinking it. There is nothing else other than what I have shown you.” However, the monk, failing to grasp the master’s intention, didn’t change his decision to leave him and bade farewell to him. When the monk was about to go out of the master’s room, the master called him. When he turned his head, the master said, “There is nothing else but this” and at the moment the monk attained enlightenment.
This story implies that the master taught the monk by revealing the true-Self through the actions of eating food and drinking tea, just as the historical Buddha did through putting away his robe and bowl, washing his feet, laying down a mat, and sitting on it. The monk then recognised what the master had shown him, for the first time in over ten years, in the master’s actions.
Seen in this way, all the actions that the Buddha showed, from putting on his robe to laying down a mat and sitting on it, turn out to be no other than important teachings.
Q: “What did the monk see in the master’s actions?”
A: “It is still seen at the moment.”
Q: “What is it?”
A: “Take a look at the flower.”
Don’t blame it for being hidden.
When you are sharp-sighted,
it reveals itself clearly even at midnight.
When you are blind,
it is invisible even in broad daylight.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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