A. Do nothing.
Commentary:
You couldn’t avoid seeing it if you could do nothing.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Category: Meditation
Q122. What are the antidotes for the three poisons against happiness?
A. The antidote for the poison of ignorance is wisdom, which means the ability to see everything as it is. That enables us to see a piece of broken rope as a piece of broken rope and rotten food as rotten food.
The antidote for the poison of greed is the precepts, which aim to control greed. We should suppress greed artificially before getting enlightened. To obey the precepts in the strictest sense, however, is not to suppress greed artificially but to have no greed to control through realising that everything is an illusion. Only then can we be said to obey the precepts. For example, when we have the wisdom to see everything as it is, we don’t have any desire to run away from the piece of broken rope, or to chase after rotten food because we can see rope as rope and rotten food as rotten food.
The antidote for the poison of anger is stillness, which naturally comes about when we obey the precepts. That is, when we obey the precepts, we have no greed. Then we need not struggle to fulfill our greed. When we don’t have to strive to satisfy our greed, there is no anger or disappointment that comes from the failure to meet our greed. Then our life becomes still.
In fact, the core of the three poisons is ignorance, and that of the three antidotes is the wisdom to see things as they are.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Q121. What are the three poisons that prevent us from being happy?
A. The first poison, ignorance, is the lack of ability to see things as they are. For instance, we look upon a piece of broken rope as a snake, or mistake rotten food for healthy food. When we can’t see things as they are like this, we are said to see illusions as real.
The second poison, greed, is the desire to get or avoid such illusions. When we are confused into seeing illusions as being real, we want to run away from illusions like a piece of broken rope that look awful or ugly, or strive to obtain illusions like rotten food that look attractive. Such desire is called greed.
Finally, when we struggle to obtain or avoid illusions that we mistake for being real, things usually don’t go as we desire. Repeated failures to achieve our goals, whether to avoid or obtain such illusions, cause us to lose our temper. Even if we sometimes succeed in achieving such illusions, we are disappointed or upset to see that they are not what we desired and don’t give us as much happiness as we expected. Such emotion, the third poison, is called anger.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Q120. Student: “Please explain in detail what I am when my body is not me, Sir.”
A. Master: “It neither speaks nor moves at all.”
Student: “How can I recognise it then, Sir?”
Master: “What did you say right now?”
Commentary:
The more detailed the explanation is, the further you are from realising it.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Q119. Does my mind use me or do I use my mind?
A. Does the air move the wind or does the wind move the air? The air is to the wind what your mind is to you. You and your mind are not two but one just like the air and the wind are. As the action of the air is the wind, so the action of your mind is you.
What matters here is that you think that you are separate from your mind and that you should cultivate your mind, just like taming a wild animal. Trying to cultivate your mind can make matters worse because it implies that you and your mind are separate from each other and the former tries to tame the latter. This is a very common mistake that people make because they don’t know what their mind is.
You should try to know what your mind is before trying to control it. How can you do that while not knowing what it is? The moment you realise your mind, you will feel oneness with your mind just as the wind is with the air.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Q118. Where is the true-self when my mind is full of illusions?
A. Your mind is no other than the true-self and all the illusions are the actions of your mind. What matters here is that, while saying that your mind is full of illusions, you, in fact, don’t know what your mind is. If you knew it clearly, you could be said to be enlightened.
In order to know your mind clearly, try to trace illusions back to their root and know it clearly instead of trying to avoid or remove them in vain. Their root is your mind, which is the true-self. So you, it is said, can realise your true-self through illusions.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Q117. What am I like when my body is not me?
A. It has neither a head nor a tail.
Commentary:
Do you wonder how it can see and speak when it has no head?
It has nothing to see and speak of when it has no head.
A wind finds its way even though it has no eyes,
Makes sounds even though it has no mouth,
And shakes things even though it has no hands.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Q116. How can I remove illusions that cover my true-self?
A. Even though most people think illusions cover the true-self and try to see it by removing them, they in fact don’t know what illusions are and what the true-self is. In brief, they can’t distinguish illusions from the true-self because they’ve never seen the true-self. So they are not aware of the truth that the illusions are no other than the true-self.
Whatever you think of as illusions, don’t try to remove them by force. You can’t eliminate them since they are the true-self. Don’t strive to attain your true-self. You can’t not get it because it is already with you.
Don’t think we are looking for something that is hidden in a secret place we don’t know just like hunting for treasure on a treasure island. We are trying to ascertain in person the fact that we are the truth, i.e. eternity itself. Never try to remove illusions, but try to find the root from which they come.
The moment you find it, all the illusions will turn into the truth, your true-self.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Q115. Should I stop going to church and praying to God in order to practice Zen meditation?
A. I never discourage anyone from doing anything. Whatever you do is up to you. I am only asking you to try to realise who or what does it when you do something. You very often don’t know what you are doing since you don’t know who is doing it. How could you get your thing done well when not knowing who is doing what?
I never ask you stop going to church or praying to God but encourage you to know what leads your body to church when you go to church and what makes your body pray when you pray to God.
Just ask yourself what is making your body do what you do, whatever you may do.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Q114. What am I when my body is not me?
A. True-self.
Commentary:
Step back, step back. It is really dangerous.
It must be good medicine,
but its attractive appearance might lure you into an incurable disease.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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