empty – Page 11 – Zen Fools

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Q179. You say that the Sutras are not different from the Bible. Could you interpret ‘Jesus’s walking on the water’ from the Bible in your view?

March 24, 2016March 24, 2016 Zen Fools

A. Water represents our illusions. ‘Walking on the water’ symbolises ‘living free from the trap of illusions’, that is, Jesus didn’t sink in illusions, which means he was not fooled by them. The scenario that they were fishing in the water is symbolising our life that we are leading in illusions. The fact that Peter started walking on the water to Jesus means that he had a strong faith in Jesus and believed the water to be an illusion, even though he didn’t realise the truth himself. The scene, where noticing the strong wind, Peter was afraid and started to sink down in the water means that he didn’t realise the wind was also an illusion because he was not enlightened.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddha, Buddhism, empty, illusion, Meditation, Mind, Practice, suffering, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q 175. Is it okay to try to heal ourselves through mind-control instead of taking medicine when we are sick because everything is from mind?

March 16, 2016 Zen Fools

A. There are people think they can cure themselves of any illness through mind-control by a kind of meditation practice instead of taking medication because everything is created by mind. They are misunderstanding the words, ‘Everything is created by mind’. They are unaware of the fact that medication is also created by mind, while saying that everything is created by mind. When you are well, there is no medicine. But everything that you take can be medicine when you are ill. If you think of daily food as important medicine and take it as sincerely as if you take medicine, then your everyday food can play more than the role of daily food that only meets your hunger, in your recovering from illness. Besides, if you regard your medicine as being rather good food that can make up for your nutritional deficiency instead of being just a medicinal substance, you can escape from or at least alleviate the stress, or the obsession that you have to take medicine.

©Boo Ahm

Buddha, Buddhism, emptiness, empty, Enlightenment, final goal, Happiness, illusion, Meditation, mindful, mindfulness, One, Practice, root, self, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q160. If everything, even enlightenment is empty and just an illusion, why should we try to attain enlightenment?

February 9, 2016 Zen Fools

A. If we really know that everything is an illusion, we don’t have to make an effort to attain enlightenment since enlightenment is also then an illusion. The reason for trying to obtain enlightenment is that we have not realised in person the truth while saying that everything is empty. The knowledge of enlightenment is not enlightenment itself. The former is as different from the latter as the knowledge of a meal is different from eating the meal. The knowledge of enlightenment can no more give us eternal happiness than the knowledge of food can satisfy our hunger. We practise in order to experience, in person, the truth that everything is empty.