One day a monk asked Master Woonmun, “What is the Buddha?” He answered, “He is a rude man.” The monk said, “What is his Dharma talk?” The master said, “It’s a talk about something.” The monk asked, “What is the right eye that can see it?” The master said, “Wide.”
Student: “What did the master mean by ‘wide’ when he was asked about the right eye that can see something that the Buddha talked about?” Master: “Nothing can escape its sight.”
Commentary: The whole body of the true-Self is the right eye.
Part 17-10 “Subhuti, Bodhisattvas are also like this. If they say, ‘I am going to liberate countless living beings,’ then they are not to be called Bodhisattvas.
“Why? Subhuti, in reality there is no such thing as a ‘Bodhisattva.’ Therefore Buddha says that all things have no self, no person, no being, and no liver of life.”
Commentary: As the Buddha said in part 3, “Although a Bodhisattvas liberates innumerable, countless, infinite sentient beings, not a single sentient being is liberated in fact. Why not? Subhuti, if the Bodhisattvas have images of self, images of person, images of a being, images of a liver of life, they are not Bodhisattvas”, Bodhisattvas should be freed from being deluded by all images.
One who says, “I’m going to liberate countless sentient beings” signifies that the speaker is not a Bodhisattva who has escaped from being deluded by the illusions of ‘I’, ‘sentient being’ and ‘liberate’. From a Bodhisattva’s point of view, there is no ‘I’ to liberate sentient beings and no sentient beings to be liberated, since he sees everything as empty. Even if he happens to liberate sentient beings, he looks upon his acts of liberating sentient beings not as acts of liberating sentient beings but as functions of the true-Self.
This is why ancient masters would say to their students, “No matter what great work you may do, you should know that you are doing nothing. If in your mind there is even the tiniest idea left that you did something, the idea will turn the limitless merit of doing great work into karma.”
So, an enlightened man is referred to as an idle man without work.
Student: “If there is no such thing as a Bodhisattva, and all things have no self, no person, no being, and no liver of life, whom did the Buddha gave this talk to?” Master: “Why don’t you know that the Buddha didn’t say a word?”
A. From the mundane perspective, two times five is definitely ten, not seven. However, in the realm of Emptiness, it is said that everything is empty. When everything is seen as empty, it is not real but illusionary like a rabbit-horn.
Then, there is no difference between one rabbit-horn and one thousand rabbit-horns. So, ‘we should know not only that two times five is ten but also that two times five is seven’ implies that we should be able to see things as empty as well.
Hearing swallows, Master Hyunsa said on the high seat, “They speak of the essence of everything and preached the core of the Dharma well” and descend from the seat.
Student: “How can I hear the core of the Dharma the swallows preached?” Master: “You can hear it when you don’t speak.” Student: “Why can’t I hear it when I don’t speak?” Master: “Because you still speak.”
Commentary: The reason why you don’t discern what reaches your ears is that you mistake your speaking for being silent.
Part 17-9 “For example, Subhuti, it is like a person whose body is large.” Subhuti said, “World Honoured One, the large body that you, the Realised One said is not a large body but just called a large body.”
Commentary: As with part 17-8 that says ‘all things’ are not all things; therefore, they are called ‘all things’, none of the things that are depicted with words are real, but illusionary. In essence there is nothing but Emptiness. All things that we think are not only real but also different and separate from each other, are no more than illusions created through being divided by words, imaginary lines, by our imagination.
All things we can express with words are illusions, and the essence of them is Emptiness. This is why it is said that everything is the Buddha. From this perspective, a large body is not a large body, but it is just called a large body, and a small body is not a small body, but it is just called a small body. Then, there is no distinction between a large body and a small body. This is why it is said that we should be able to put a huge mountain into a mustard seed. Seen in this way, there is no difference amongst all things in the universe. At that time everything becomes Oneness. The purpose of Buddhism is to realise that everything is the same and one.
Student: “Sir, if you are not a human being but just called a human being, what are you?” Master: “Even the Buddha cannot know it.”
A. ‘Mind is the source, and all things are illusions’ is a well-known sentence that indicates the core of Buddhism. However, the sentence that you ask me to interpret might seem contradictory to the Buddha’s teaching, but is telling us how to accept the core of the Buddha’s words, without being deluded by words.
To rephrase the sentence, it is true that mind is the source, however it is not source but no more than an illusion if we accept mind as a word without realising what mind is. All things, according to the Buddha’s teaching, are illusions, although they are not illusions but the functions of the true-Self if we can see them as they are without being deluded by forms and names. This is why it is said that Mara’s talk becomes the function of the true-Self before the Buddha, the Buddha’s talk becomes Mara’s talk before sentient beings.
Hearing swallows, Master Hyunsa said on the high seat, “They speak of the essence of everything and preached the core of the Dharma well” and descend from the seat.
Student: “How can we hear the core of the Dharma the swallows preached?” Master: “You can hear it when you don’t speak.”
Commentary: Only your words are heard when you speak.
Part 17-8 “Subhuti, ‘all things’ are not all things; therefore, they are called ‘all things.’”
Commentary: This scripture means that all things are not things at all in essence but just names, imaginary labels and that the Buddha used all things as expedient means for the purpose of revealing the true-Self. This is why ancient masters would say that everything is a rabbit-horn.
We should realise what the Buddha tried to show to us beyond words, through words that are imaginary labels. Ancient masters would say that words are not the true-Self but that the true-Self is not separate from words. This implies that form is Emptiness and Emptiness is form, and that illusions are enlightenment and vice versa. Form is not different and separate from Emptiness, but one.
In short, all things are one as the true-Self, but they appear to be many and different from one another because we divide it into many by words, imaginary labels and because we, being deluded by the words, see them as distinct and separate from each other.
Student: “How is it when we realise that all things are not things but just called all things?” Master: “Who can ask whom what?”
I am very sorry for your loss. Who in the world could avoid the sadness you are going through now? However, from the Buddhist perspective, your mother is and will be with you all the time just as she used to be. I advise you to pay more attention to how to feel your mother who is with you, rather than think that she disappeared for good. Once a monk asked his master, “Sir, what is the Buddha?” The master answered, “How dare you disregard the Buddha before you?” This means that the master blamed the monk for trying to see the Buddha without recognising the Buddha who is right before him all the time.
Remember that your mother is always with you just as the Buddha who passed away two thousand and five hundred years ago is always with you.
Dongshan Liangjie once invited head monastic Tai to have fruit with him and asked, “There is something that holds the sky above and the ground beneath. It is as black as lacquer. It is always in activity but cannot be received within activity. Tell me, where is the fault?” The head monastic said, “The fault is activity.” Dongshan shouted and then had the attendant take the fruit away.
Student: “What was the head monastic’s fault?” Master: “When Dongshan pointed to the moon, he looked at his finger instead of the moon.” Student: “What would you have said if you had been the head monastic?” Master: “I would have said, ‘I have neither eyes nor ears’.”
Commentary: Seeing and hearing are the source of all faults.
Zen Fools 