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Zhaozhou’s Cup of Tea

Zhaozhou asked a newly arrived monastic, “Have you been here before?”
The monastic said, “Yes, I have been here.”
Zhaozhou said, “Have a cup of tea.”
Later he asked another monastic, “Have you been here before?”
The monastic said, “No, I haven’t been here.”
Zhaozhou said, “Have a cup of tea.”
The monastery director then asked Zhaozhou, “Aside from the one who has been here, why did you say, ‘Have a cup of tea’ to the one who had not been here?”
Zhaozhou said, “Director.”
The director responded, “Yes?”
Zhaozhou said, “Have a cup of tea.”

Student: “Why did Zhaozhou always say, ‘Have a cup of tea’?”
Master: “Because there is nothing else.”
Student: “I can drink tea. Why am I still not enlightened?”
Master: “Because you drink tea with a mouth.”
Student: “How could I drink tea without using a mouth?”
Master: “What is left in the cup after you drink tea?”
Student: “Nothing.”
Master: “Drink it. It is not what you can drink with a mouth.”
Student: “How could I drink it?”
Master: “It’s already in your mouth. Why don’t you enjoy its taste?”

Commentary:
Don’t die of thirst while floundering in inescapably deep water.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Rinzai 33

Nor do you need to look for worthiness; it will arise by itself.
Followers of the Way, the old masters had ways of saving men. Do not let yourselves be deluded by anyone; this is all I teach.
If you want to make use of genuine insight, then use it right now without delay or doubt.

Commentary:
‘Worthiness’ here means genuine insight, or the true-Self. ‘Saving men’ means to save people from the world of illusions which is compared to a burning house, that is, to get them to attain enlightenment. Old masters’ ways of saving men were to stop people from being deluded by anyone, or any illusions since the worthiness arises by itself only if we are not deluded by illusions. So, Rinzai said that all he taught was to tell his students not to be deluded by anyone. By saying to his students ‘If you want to make use of genuine insight, then use it right now without delay or doubt’, Rinzai, revealing the true-Self, suggested that his students themselves were none other than the true-Self they were looking for.

Student: “What is an illusion?”
Master: “All words are illusions.”
Student: “How can we explain genuine insight, the true-Self if all words are removed?”
Master: “The true-Self explains itself when all words are removed.”

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

#zen #meditation #zenmeditation #enlightened #enlightenment #zenfools #photography

Q. Why did Jesus say, “Leave your hometown, your relatives, your parents and your homes, and go to the land I am going to show you.”?

A. You should not mistake this for a message that entices, or encourages you to leave, or betray your beloved people, including your parents who gave birth to and have taken care of you in order to follow him. He even said, “Love your neighbours as yourselves.”

Your hometown, your relatives, your parents and your homes here imply the illusions which are so strongly attached to you that they are very difficult for you to remove. The land he says he is going to show you implies Heaven in Christianity and the Pure Land, enlightenment in Buddhism. In other words, it means that if you remove all illusions, you will go to Heaven.

Student: “How can I go to Heaven?”
Master: “Throw away the illusion of Heaven.”

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

The Emperor and the Buddha’s Relics

Emperor Xian brought the Buddha’s relics to the palace and made an offering to the relics, which glowed in the night. Early the following morning, the court celebrated this as being the result of imperial virtue, but Wen alone did not celebrate it.
The emperor said to Wen, “All the other courtiers are celebrating this. Why do you alone not celebrate it?”
Wen said, “When I read a Sutra in the past, it said, ‘The Buddha’s light is not blue, yellow, red, white, and so on’. Therefore, the light must be the light of a dragon deity guarding the relics.”
The emperor said, “What does the Buddha’s light look like?”
Wen remained silent. Because of that he was forced to resign.

Student: “Why did Wen remain silent without answering when asked what the Buddha’s light looks like?”
Master: “He had compassion for the emperor.”
Student: “Why did the emperor force Wen to resign?”
Master: “Because the Emperor put into his own eyes and ears the medicine that he should have taken.”

Commentary:
Although Master Wen remained silent in order to protect the emperor from calamity, the calamity fell not only upon the emperor but also upon the whole country.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Rinzai 32

The master said, “Today’s students of the Buddha-Dharma need to attain genuine insight. If you have genuine insight, birth and death will not affect you and you will be free to come and to go.”

Genuine insight means enlightenment, the eye of wisdom that can see everything as empty. To see everything as empty is to know that everything is an illusion and not to be deluded by illusions. When you have genuine insight, you naturally become free from birth and death since you’ve realised that they are empty.

Tripping over or being trapped by the illusions which are imaginary lines created by us is said to be no other than suffering. Birth and death are also typical illusions which we are very firmly attached to. ‘Be free to come and go’ means not to be trapped by, or not to trip over illusions, which is not to be deluded by illusions.

To sum up, if you have genuine insight, you are free from birth and death because you are not deluded by illusions such as birth and death.

Student: “How can I attain genuine insight?”
Master: “Don’t be deluded by the illusion of genuine insight.”

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

#zen #meditation #zenmeditation #enlightened #enlightenment #zenfools #photography

Q. Don’t you think that clinging to ancient beliefs that are no longer supported by evidence imprisons the mind?

A. Copernican theory, I think, can be a good example that answers your question. Although few people supported Copernicus’s idea when he first suggested that the Earth and the other planets all travel in circles around the sun, it turned out to be true in the end. It is highly wrong and perilous to think that an idea, or a belief is incorrect and futile because it is not supported by the majority and that it is right and valuable because it is supported by numerous people. Regardless of whether it is supported by many people or not, the truth is true, and a lie is false. Even if no one supports it, the truth is still the truth. No matter how many people believe it, an untruth cannot become the truth.

Buddha’s teaching is that we should realise that everything is empty and not cling to anything. According to his teaching, clinging to even a small thing, whether ancient or modern, is imprisoning the mind. So, you should know clinging to the idea that clinging to ancient beliefs which are no longer supported by evidence imprisons the mind, can imprison your mind as well.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

#zen #meditation #zenmeditation #enlightened #enlightenment #zenfools #photography

Buddha’s Begging Bowl

One day the World-Honoured One said to Ananda, “It is getting close to mealtime. You should go to town with the begging bowl.”
Ananda accepted his request.
The World-Honoured One said, “When you go begging with the bowl, you follow the manner of the Past Seven Buddhas.”
Ananda said, “What is the manner of the Past Seven Buddhas?”
The Buddha said, “Ananda!”
Ananda responded, “Yes, Master.”
The Buddha said, “Go begging.”

Student: “Why did the Buddha just call ‘Ananda’ and tell him to go begging instead of answering his question ‘What is the manner of the Past Seven Buddhas?’?”
Master: “In order to show him the manner of the Past Seven Buddhas.”
Student: “I still don’t understand it. What is the manner of the Past Seven Buddhas?”
Master: “Don’t disgrace the Past Seven Buddhas.”

Commentary:
The true-Self looks different every moment because it has no fixed form.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Rinzai 31

The monk asked, “How is it when you snatch away both man and environment?”
The master said, “The provinces of Hei and Fu are cut off entirely, each alone in its own place.”
The monk asked, “How is it when you snatch neither man nor environment?”
The master said, “The king ascends the jewel-palace, and the peasants in the fields burst into song.”

Commentary:
‘To snatch away both man and environment’ means that, ‘There is neither you, your mind nor things’ for the purpose of eliminating all the illusions of you, your mind and things at the same time. The state without any illusions is referred to as Emptiness, the true-Self, Buddha. This state is so free of illusions and so perfect that it is impossible to express with words. That’s why we say that we are wrong if we even open our mouths to describe it. So, ‘The provinces of Hei and Fu are cut off entirely, each alone in its own place’ means that the realm of Emptiness is entirely cut off from that of Form. To experience this state is expressed as achieving a great death, which means the death of all illusions.

To snatch neither man nor environment means to say that Emptiness is Form and Form is not different from Emptiness, that is, Emptiness and Form are one, not separate and that illusions are the very true-Self. He meant that we should be able to see things in both ways; as Emptiness and as Form at the same time instead of staying in Emptiness. This state is expressed as revival from the great death. That’s why an enlightened man is often referred to as a man who revived from a great death. Then, all things look perfect. Master Rinzai described the perfect and peaceful state by saying, ‘The king ascends the jewel-palace, and the peasants in the fields burst into song’. This is the very Pure Land in Buddhism and the Kingdom of Heaven in Christianity that we should enjoy at this moment.

©Boo Ahm

Images ©Simon Hathaway

#zen #meditation #enlightened #enlightenment #zenfools #photography

Q. How can an impermanent self attain permanent enlightenment?

A. The purpose of Zen meditation is to realise that an impermanent self is an illusion, or a bundle of illusions and that the essence of your being is not the illusions but the true-Self; permanent being. When you are stripped of all these illusions, your true-Self that is permanent being reveals itself just as all things covered with snow show themselves when the snow melts away.

To my best knowledge, the purpose of all religions is to help people who mistake impermanent illusions for the essence of their being, to realise that their essence is permanent being. That is why Christianity insists that we should attain eternal life and why Buddhism says that we should escape the yoke of birth and death through enlightenment.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

#zen #meditation #zenmeditation #enlightened #enlightenment #zenfools #photography

The National Teacher’s Dharma Realms

The National Teacher Yanguan asked a lecturer, “What kind of sutras and commentaries do you read?”
The lecturer replied, “The Flower Garland Sutra.”
The National Teacher then asked, “How many kinds of dharma realms are there in the sutra?”
The lecturer said, “Briefly, there are four kinds, but from a wider perspective, they’re really overlapping and infinite.”
The master straightened his fly whisk and asked, “In which dharma realm is this contained?”
The lecturer faltered and remained silent for a long time.
The master said, “Thinking about it, you’ll know it. Contemplating it, you’ll understand it. All of that, however, is just making a living in a ghost cave. In broad daylight the lamp has certainly lost its brightness. Get out of here.”

Student: “In which dharma realm is the master’s fly whisk contained?”
Master: “Where are the multiple realms from?”
Student: “What did the master mean by ‘In broad daylight the lamp has certainly lost its brightness’?”
Master: “Why do you pay attention to a lamp in broad daylight.”

Commentary:
Reading a map of London is no more residing in London than reading the Flower Garland Sutra is realising the true-Self.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

#zen #meditation #zenmeditation #enlightened #enlightenment #zenfools #photography