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Q. Why did Jesus do miracles?

A. Because he wanted to show what you yourself should do. Your question should be ‘Why don’t I perform miracles as Jesus did?’ or ‘How can I do miracles as Jesus could?’

In order to follow Jesus’s teaching, you should not be deluded by words and so commit the error of interpreting metaphors like ‘walking on the water’ literally but rather grasp what is beyond the words. You should know that such metaphors are examples that show what you can and should do as one of his students.

When we were young and we saw our parents or other grown-ups lifting heavy things easily, they appeared to do miracles. However, we can also find ourselves doing such things just as our parents did when we are grown up. We should know that Jesus did miracles not to show off his ability but to show us what we should do, just as parents and teachers demonstrate what their children and students should do in the future.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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Linji’s “Blind Ass”

When Linji was about to pass away, he entrusted Sansheng, saying, “After I pass away, do not allow my treasury of true dharma to perish.”
Sansheng said, “Master, how could I have your treasury of the dharma perish?”
Linji said, “Later, when someone asks about my teaching, how will you answer them?”
Sansheng shouted.
Linji said, “Who would think that my treasury of the dharma would perish with this blind ass?”

Student: “Why did Linji say that his treasury of the dharma would perish with his student?”
Master: “Because Sansheng broke it.”

Commentary:
What can be killed is not the Buddha.
If you kill Buddha who can be killed, you will see the true Buddha.
What perishes is not the treasury of the dharma.
If you break the perishable treasury of the dharma, you will get the true treasury of the dharma.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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Rinzai 26

From the High Seat, the master said: “One is on the way for aeons without leaving his house; one leaves his house without being on the way. Which one is worthy to receive the offerings of men and gods?” Then he came down from the seat.

Commentary:
One who is on the way for aeons without leaving his house implies an enlightened person who has realised that everything is one as Emptiness and that there is nowhere to leave or to go to, or a person who attained enlightenment without becoming a monk. One who leaves his house without being on the way symbolises a person who left his house and became a monk to attain enlightenment but who is still not enlightened. Rinzai meant that getting enlightened is possible regardless of whether or not we become a monk if we practise in the right way.

The answer to the question ‘Which one is worthy to receive the offerings of men and gods?’ is ‘One who is on the way for aeons without leaving his house’ when literally interpreted. However, Master Rinzai raised this question for the purpose of checking who among those present at the dharma talk was truly on the way, regardless of whether they had left their houses or not. He who is really on the way for aeons without leaving his house should not be deluded by sweet words like these. So, ancient masters would say, “If you are deluded by words, all the Sutras become Mara’s talk.”

Student: “Which deserves to receive the offerings of men and gods?”
Master: “The one whom men and gods cannot approach.”

©Boo Ahm

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Q. How should we understand Buddha’s final words on his deathbed ‘Not a word have I said’?

A. What did he do for forty-nine years if he didn’t even say a word? If all the talks he delivered for forty-nine years are not words, can we say that his final saying ‘Not a word have I said’ is words?

The core of Buddha’s teaching is that everything is empty. All he did for forty-nine years after his enlightenment was to try to teach how to see things as empty and show what Emptiness is like. When everything is empty, just as his teaching says, all the dharma talks he gave are also empty. So, his final comment means that we should not be attached to his words by realising that they are also empty. He said that his teaching is like a boat for crossing a river and that we should abandon it once we have crossed the river.

Student: “Why did Buddha say that he had said not a word on his deathbed?”
Master: “He summarised what he had said for forty-nine years in a single sentence.”

©Boo Ahm

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Lingzhao’s “Bright and Clear”

While sitting, Layman Pang asked his daughter Lingzhao, “A teacher of old said, ‘Bright and clear are the one hundred grasses; bright and clear is the meaning of the ancestral teaching.’ How about yourself?”
Lingzhao said, “How could someone who is mature and great say such a thing?”
Pang said, “How would you say it?”
Lingzhao said, “Bright and clear are the one hundred grasses; bright and clear is the meaning of the ancestral teaching.”
Pang laughed.

Student: “Why did Lingzhao repeat Pang’s question as an answer to his question?”
Master: “Pang was caught hiding the true-Self by his daughter.”

Commentary:
Hiding the true-Self is much more difficult than revealing it because the action of hiding it is also the expression of it.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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Rinzai 25

From the High Seat, the master said: “One is on a lonely mountain peak with no track to come down; one is in the middle of a busy crossroads and cannot go forward or back; of these two, who is further on, who lags behind? Do not take them to be Vimalakirti or the great Master Fu.”
Then he came down from the seat.

Commentary:
The master is checking his students’ practice by raising seemingly two extremely opposite examples; one on a lonely mountain peak and one in the middle of a busy crossroads. The former symbolises Emptiness and the latter Forms. Those who have realised that Forms are Emptiness and Emptiness is not different from Forms, can easily grasp what the master means and answer his question wisely. Both are always one and can’t be separated and they do not have front or back. He was so kind as to give a hint by adding, “Don’t take them to be Vimalakirti or the great Master Fu.” He advised his students not to be deluded by his words into thinking that he meant Vimalakirti who, as one of Buddha’s best students, lived in secular world without becoming a monk or the great Master Fu who stayed in deep in the mountains aloof from the mundane world after enlightenment. You should know that the master is revealing the true-Self while explaining Emptiness and Forms with two metaphors.

Student: “Which of the two mentioned above is further on and who lags behind?
Master: “Which of the two, wind or air, is further on and which lags behind?

©Boo Ahm

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Q. How should I practise when there is no time to sit?

A. Since I have already talked about how to practise and especially how to practise when you feel you have no time to sit before, I am going to give you a different answer this time.

If you think that there is no time to sit, can you say that there is no time to die as well? If you can say that there is no time to die, I will approve not only of your saying that there is no time to sit but also of your enlightenment.

To realise that everything is empty is enlightenment. Saying that everything is empty means that everything is just an imaginary line. So, if you can see time just as an imaginary line and realise that there is nothing such as time, you can be said to be enlightened.

Time and space are essential in order for a thing to exist or happen. Saying that there is no time is like saying that there is nothing. Saying that time is an imaginary line is just like saying that things are imaginary lines. When there is no time and time is just an imaginary line, there is no death and death is also an imaginary line. Being able to see everything in this way is enlightenment.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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Xuansha’s “The Three Vehicles and the Twelve Divisions of Sutras”

Xuansha was once asked by a monastic, “The Three Vehicles and the Twelve Divisions of Sutras are unnecessary. What is the meaning of Bodhidharma’s coming from India?”
Xuansha said, “The Three Vehicles and the Twelve Divisions of Sutras are totally unnecessary.”

Student: “Why did Xuansha say that The Three Vehicles and the Twelve Divisions of Sutras were unnecessary even though they are all Buddha’s teaching?”
Master: “Because that is the core of The Three Vehicles and the Twelve Divisions of Sutras.”

Commentary:
When Buddha is no longer Buddha and the Sutras are no longer the Sutras, we will see Buddha.

©Boo Ahm

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Rinzai 24

I say it clearly as it is – to understand or not to understand, both are mistaken. People can sneer at me as they like. I have kept you standing for a long time. Take care of yourselves.”

Commentary:
This scripture means, “I always reveal the true-Self clearly, but you are wrong, regardless of whether you understand it or not, if you try to understand it through your knowledge by following words. When you realise the true-Self, there is nothing to understand, or not to understand because everything becomes one, or non-duality as Emptiness. If there is something to understand or not to understand, it is not non-duality as Emptiness since there are subject, you and object, something you do or do not understand.
People can sneer at me as they like when they don’t grasp what I mean since my words and actions might appear to make no sense at all to them when they are deluded by my words, or actions.”

Student: “If both understanding and not understanding are wrong, how should we accept masters’ words and actions?”
Master: “Don’t take them as words and actions.”
Student: “How then?”
Master: “Both understanding and not understanding are right.”

©Boo Ahm

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Q. Is it preferable not to have children for better practice? When I was single, my practice was very good. But after marriage I can’t practise as hard as before marriage.

A. You seem to think that you won’t be able to practise as usual when you have children, because you have to allocate time and attention to them, rather than your practice. You can have such an idea when you think that practice is only sitting upright in a quiet place.

You should know that keeping curiosity about what is driving your body to do what you are doing is no other than practice. When eating, ask yourself what is making your body eat. When struggling with your children, ask yourself what is controlling your body then. If you can practise in this way, you can’t stop practising even for a moment whatever you may do. Having children might change the manner of your practice but can never shorten the time of your practice if you are determined to continue it.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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