A. You can’t hide it.
Commentary:
Why don’t you recognise it while revealing it at every moment?
Don’t seek it and it will show itself.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Category: Uncategorized
Q143. Is enlightenment the final end or a process?
A. To those who are not enlightened, it can seem to be the final end of Zen meditation as well as a process for wisdom and compassion for others. However, to the enlightened, it can be said to be the final end because they feel oneness or non-duality.
After enlightenment, whatever they may do, whether wise or compassionate, it is the action of the truth. They do all things without doing since they are free from all illusions. Wisdom is not wisdom any more, and compassion is not compassion any more but an illusion to them. There is nothing else other than the truth after enlightenment. So enlightenment is the final end.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Q142. Should ‘I’ be thrown away to attain enlightenment?
A. It is a very common saying in Zen that we should discard ‘I’ in order to attain enlightenment. This saying, however, is like putting the cart before the horse. This nonsensical saying is possible because we don’t know what we say. How would it be possible to discard ‘I’ without so much as knowing what it is? However hard we may try to discard ‘I’, it never disappears unless we realise what it is.
In fact, it is can’t be removed by force but disappears by itself when we realise what it is. The truth is not that it disappears, but that you realise that there is no ‘I’. In other words, you should realise that what seems to be your ‘I’ is just an illusion.
Trying to remove your ‘I’ without knowing what it is, is like trying to sweep away a shadow cast on the ground. If you are to remove your ‘I’, try to realise what it is instead of trying in vain to eliminate it.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Q141. Student: “Where are you when your body is not you?”
A. Master: (Pointing to the tea cup before him) “It’s in the cup.”
Student: (After looking very closely into the cup.) “There is nothing in it, Sir!”
Master: (Looking into the cup) “It’s here.”
Commentary:
Master is showing it clearly.
Why is the student jumping into the cup?
Where is ‘here’?
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Q140. What should I do when I encounter a question during practice or when reading something about Zen?
A. First of all, never try to satisfy your curiosity about Zen or enlightenment by reading books. When you hit upon a question during practice or when reading books concerning Zen, don’t depend on books for the answer to your question. The books will present you with new questions, which will lead you to read more books and they will pose yet more questions. This will be endless. That is like trying to meet your hunger with pictures of food. You can not reach the final goal through reading books any more than you can satisfy your hunger by looking at pictures of food.
When you encounter a question beyond your understanding, ask yourself the question rather than consult another book. It might take some time, but you will never fail to get the right answer from yourself. So, ancient Masters would say that reading for a day is not as valuable as practising for an hour.
Remember that Buddha attained enlightenment not by reading books but by practice. When he was asked by his disciples on his deathbed how they should practice after he passed away, he replied, “You should practice depending on the lantern of yourself and the Dharma”.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Q139. Do you think that all kinds of meditation can lead to enlightenment like the saying, ‘All roads lead to Rome’?
A. It is true that all roads lead to Rome. However, why have most people who have tried to reach Rome failed to do so? Even if we take the right road but go in the wrong direction we will never get to Rome. Only when we take the right road in the right direction can we reach Rome. If we go in the wrong direction, then the harder we try the further we will get from Rome.
Which road we should take doesn’t matter since all roads lead to Rome. However, in order to take the right road in the right direction, we should first of all know exactly where we are. The most important and the first thing to do in order to reach your destination, is to find out where you are standing when you are lost in a strange place. When you can realise your location, then your destination, Rome will reveal itself.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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