master – Page 13 – Zen Fools

Buddha, Buddhism, emptiness, empty, Enlightenment, final goal, illusion, master, Meditation, Mind, Practice, root, self, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q193. Today, I thought that trying to attain enlightenment in any way is not correct. It is dualistic. There is still an ‘I’ that is trying and an illusion of gaining something. Is this correct?

April 26, 2016 Zen Fools

A. You are absolutely right. When we say ‘trying to attain enlightenment’, it can look and sound dual because there is ‘I’ and there is ‘enlightenment’ as you mentioned. However, I can’t help but explain it in this way because there is still enlightenment for you to attain until you realise that everything is empty and that there is nothing to gain or lose. Attaining enlightenment doesn’t mean that there is duality; ‘you’ and ‘enlightenment’ to be gained, but rather that you should realise everything is empty and there is no duality.

I talk you into attaining enlightenment because you have not realised the truth of non-duality through experience even though you have a lot of knowledge about non-duality and emptiness, and say that everything is empty and there is no enlightenment to attain. Strictly speaking, only when you realise the truth that everything is empty can you say that there is no enlightenment to attain, because there is nothing to realise any more. The reason why I say that you should attain enlightenment is not that there is duality; ‘you’ and ‘enlightenment’, but that you should realise the truth that everything is empty and non-dual and so there is no enlightenment to attain.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddha, Buddhism, emptiness, Enlightenment, final goal, illusion, Koan, master, Meditation, Mind, Practice, root, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q192. Student: “What are you when your body is not you?”

April 24, 2016 Zen Fools

A.Master: “What are you when your body is not you?”

Commentary:

If you are to grasp the Master’s kind answer, you should listen with your ears closed.

emptiness, empty, Enlightenment, final goal, Happiness, illusion, Koan, master, Meditation, Mind, mindfulness, Practice, present, root, self, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q190. Why do illusions arise?

April 20, 2016April 20, 2016 Zen Fools

A. They arise because you don’t know what they are. In fact, you don’t know what an illusion is even though you often mention it. You can’t remove or stop it from showing up because you don’t know what it is.

In fact, there are no illusions at all. There is only the truth, or the true-self. The problem is that you are mistaking the truth for illusions. Enlightenment is to realise that all illusions are the truth, or the true-self. As the Diamond Sutra says, to realise that a flower is not a flower, but emptiness, is enlightenment. To realise that an illusion is not real, but empty, is enlightenment. Realising that an illusion is not an illusion, but the truth, or the true-self is enlightenment.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Bible, Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, final goal, illusion, master, Meditation, Mind, Practice, root, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q184. Masters often advise people to become like children. Do they mean that all children are enlightened?

April 6, 2016 Zen Fools

Q. As I mentioned earlier, we are living in the world of memory, or the world of illusions, since we can see only the world of memory; a half of all. The purpose of Zen practice is to see the world beyond memory and enjoy both the world of memory and the world beyond memory at the same time. Only when we can see and enjoy both of these worlds can we be said to be enlightened. Children are not enlightened because they can see only a half of all; the world beyond memory, just as we are not enlightened now because we can see only a half of all; the world of memory.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddhism, illusion, master, Meditation, Mind, Practice, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q 177. Student: “What is the General?”

March 20, 2016 Zen Fools

A. Master: “A soldier”

Student: “What is a soldier?”

Master: ‘A General”

Commentary:

Don’t say that the General is hidden disguised.

He is so wise that he never plays such a cheap trick.

It is due to your own eye trouble that he seems to be hidden disguised.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddhism, Enlightenment, final goal, master, Mind, Practice, root, student, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q174. Student: “What is your true-self?”

March 13, 2016March 13, 2016 Zen Fools

A. Master: “A gate.”

Student: “How can I see it?”

Master: “Open it.”

Student: “How can I open it?”

Master: “Break it open.”

Commentary:

All gates are wide open.

Don’t bump into the gate itself, just pass through the gateway.

Trying to open it is turning your back on it.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, final goal, illusion, Koan, master, Meditation, Mind, Practice, present, Religion, root, self, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q173. Where do we go after we die?

March 10, 2016March 10, 2016 Zen Fools

A. If you are anxious to know where you will go after death, you should know where you are now. How could you expect to know your future which is invisible, not knowing the present right before your eyes? Once you know where you are standing now, you can know not just where you will go after death but also where you were before you were born. In order to know where you are, you, first of all, should know what you are. How could you know where you are, not knowing what you are?

Your true-self is not born and does not die. It has always been and will be the same without any change forever. It never changes at all. You are eternity itself. Death and birth are only illusions. The problem is that you are not aware of this truth because you can’t see things as they are. The end of Zen meditation is to experience the truth through your body.

Do you want to know where you will go after your death?
Watch carefully what you are stepping on.

©Boo Ahm

Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, final goal, Koan, master, Meditation, Mind, mindful, Practice, root, self, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q172. Is mind different from thoughts?

March 8, 2016March 8, 2016 Zen Fools

A. Thoughts are to mind what winds are to the air and waves are to the sea. In other words, thoughts are the actions of mind, and thoughts are temporary but mind is permanent. In brief, mind is the root of all thoughts, and is called true-self as well in Buddhism.

When we can see mind, the root of thoughts clearly, we can control thoughts, but most people are controlled by them because they cannot see mind for thoughts. After all, we become enslaved by the thoughts produced by us. Zen meditation is a practice to see mind.
©Boo Ahm

Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, final goal, illusion, master, Meditation, Mind, root, self, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q171. Student: “What are you like when your body is not you?”

March 6, 2016 Zen Fools

A. Master: “It’s like a mountain.”

Commentary:
Oh! Mountain!
It’s also like a rat.
If I were asked the question, I would say, “A mountain runs like a rat.”
©Boo Ahm

Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, Koan, master, Meditation, Mind, mindful, mindfulness, Practice, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q169. I was told to put my mind down and not to think of anything by my ex-master. How can I put down my mind?

March 1, 2016March 1, 2016 Zen Fools

A. That is like telling a baby who can’t even stand on his own feet to run as fast as a sprinter. The first thing you should do in order to put your mind down is to know what your mind is. How would it be possible for you to put your mind down when you don’t know what it is? The key point in Zen meditation is whether or not you realise what your mind is, and not whether to put it down or not. Once you realise what your mind is, holding it or putting it down is up to you.

One of the most common mistakes we make is to think that we know what we don’t know. You seem to be making the same mistake of trying to put your mind down, thinking that you know your mind while in fact you don’t know it. If you are anxious to put your mind down, do try to realise what it is before trying to put it down in vain. In fact, once you realise what your mind is, you can be said to have completed your practice, or to have attained enlightenment. Should you see your master again, first of all ask him what your mind is.
©Boo Ahm