Master Buban, pointing to a chair, said to his disciples, “If you know the chair, it is more than enough to encompass the universe.” Later Master Woonmoon said, “If you know the chair, it is far apart as the heaven and earth.”
Student: “Then, should we know a chair, or not?”
Master: “You should be neither aware nor unaware of it.”
Student: “How is it when I am neither aware nor unaware of it?”
Master: “A chair is a chair, and a table is a table.”
Commentary:
If you know the chair, it is not a chair. When a chair is not a chair, the Buddha land is not the Buddha land.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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