Photography – Page 11

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Q254. You always advise us not to follow language, but how can we understand you unless we follow your language?

September 15, 2016September 15, 2016 Zen Fools

A. There is a well-known saying ‘If following words, you will fall into the hell. If not grasping the meaning of words, you will be deluded’. When I tell you not to follow my language, I don’t mean that you should ignore my language but that you should not follow the superficial meaning of it.

When pointing to the moon, we can use a finger, a wooden stick, a plastic stick or an iron stick. We can point to the moon even with a fork or a knife if we are asked what the moon is in the middle of eating. Regrettably, people pay all their attention only to studying and analysing the things used to point to the moon: what they are made of, how old they are, what shape they are and so on.

When I use a lot of different words and expressions to point to the true-self, my language is like the things above used to point to the moon. If you accept my words in the way you understand general knowledge, you are like a person who studies the stick or the spoon used to point to the moon. Then, you are said to follow or be deceived by language. If you are deceived by language like this, you will be immersed in illusions and even all Sutras and the Bible will become illusions.

Student: “What’s the true-self?”

Master: “Don’t follow my language.”

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, illusion, master, Meditation, Mind, Photography, Practice, present, student, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q253. What is the best posture for Zen meditation?

September 13, 2016September 13, 2016 Zen Fools

A. There is no fixed best posture for Zen meditation even though sitting upright is commonly said to be the best posture, especially for novices. The best posture is the posture that can enable you to focus all your attention to your question.

Student: “What is the best posture for Zen practice?”

Master: “Don’t sit. Don’t stand. Don’t lie down.”

Student: “What posture shall I take then?”

Master: “Any posture that helps you focus on the question is the best because your true-self neither sits, lies, nor stands.”

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddha, Buddhism, emptiness, empty, Enlightenment, final goal, Koan, master, Meditation, Mind, Photography, Religion, root, self, student, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q 246. Master: “How old are you?”

August 28, 2016 Zen Fools

A. Student: “I’m fifty years old.”

Master: “How old is fifty years?”

Student: “I don’t know.”

Master: “How come you still don’t know your age?”

Student: “How old are you, Sir?”

Master: “Eighty years old.”

Student: “How old is eighty years?”

Master: “Eight times ten is eighty.”

Commentary:

Don’t think that the student’s right answer is five times ten.

The curved can’t contain the straight.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddha, Buddhism, compassion, desire, emptiness, empty, illusion, love, master, Meditation, Mind, Photography, Practice, self, sex, sexual, suffering, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q236. I was unfaithful to my wife, and she wanted to get divorced from me. I apologised to her for my misdeed with all my heart and she promised to forgive me. We, as Buddhists, thinking that everything is empty, agreed to forget the matter. However, she still keeps bringing up the matter, which leads to arguments and we still talk about divorce.

August 4, 2016 Zen Fools

A. To think that everything is empty seems to be a good way to solve your problem. Try to keep thinking that way even though you’ve not realised the truth and your life will gradually become more stable with your Zen practice growing mature. The most important thing that you should realise now is that if everything is empty, your wife’s attitude is also empty just like your misdeed is empty. Then, your situation is not a problem anymore.

You might think that she also should see your past deeds as empty and not be so angry with you, but she should take responsibility for her own behaviour. If she also viewed things as you want her to, it would be the most ideal solution. However, if you really believe that everything is empty, why does her attitude, rude or polite, matter. If you can’t accept her attitude as empty while saying that everything is empty, you are being self-contradictory after all.

Why don’t you think of her attitude as her struggle to forgive you. Her head may have forgiven you but her heart still might not since the latter takes longer to forgive you. She, I think, is determined to forgive you since she still loves you and wants to keep your family together, but she still feels suffering from the incident because her wound has not yet healed perfectly. It is your duty as her husband to comfort and help her to surmount her suffering and become what she used to be.

Seeing others’ suffering as yours is compassion.

Seeing your suffering as empty is wisdom.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddha, Buddhism, emptiness, Enlightenment, final goal, Happiness, illusion, master, Meditation, Mind, Photography, Practice, Religion, root, self, student, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q235. What is the true-self, Buddha?

August 2, 2016 Zen Fools

All you see, hear and feel is your true-self. If you think of anything else as your true-self, Buddha, that is none other than an illusion of your true-self.

People, in fact, are chasing after the illusion of Buddha created by their imagination while always facing Buddha. The problem is that you don’t recognise Him while being together with Him all the time and never having left each other. If you pursue anything else other than what you are confronting now, it is to add another illusion which prevents you from seeing your true-self.

The true-self is one or non-dual, and it is the origin or the root of everything including ourselves. We have divided the true-self into many with imaginary lines, all labels. In fact, we have drawn so many complicated lines that we can neither see nor imagine the original shape of the true-self without any lines. We have been addicted to such imaginary lines for such a long time that we cannot recognise the One now. However, no matter how many lines there are and no matter how complicated the lines are, we are still the true-self itself, have never left it and can’t leave it, whether we are aware of this truth or not. The purpose of Zen meditation is to realise the truth by seeing the intact shape of the true-self.