When Master Yaksan was reading a sutra, one of his students said to him, “Why do you read the sutras yourself whilst telling people not to read the sutras?” The master answered, “I am just covering my eyes.” The student asked, “May I use the sutras just as you do?” The master said, “You should see through even a cow’s hide.”
Student: “What did the master mean by ‘see through even a cow’s hide’?”
Master: “If there happens to be even a single thing you can’t see through, you can’t read the sutras.”
Commentary:
Reading the sutras is struggling with black ink and white paper if one can’t see through them from cover to cover without touching them.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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