Category: Zen

One day seeing his students quarrelling about the ownership of a cat, Namjun, holding the cat in one hand and a sword in the other, said, “If you can say, I’ll leave this cat alive, but I’ll cut it if you can’t say.” No one said, and he cut the cat into two. When he told the story to Joshu later, Joshu took off one of his shoes, put it on his head and went out of the room. Seeing it, Namjun said, “If you had been then, the cat could have been saved.”

Student: “Why did Namjun kill the cat?”

Master: “Because a sentient being is cruel.”

Commentary:

A king never kills a living thing but orders his servants to if necessary.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Part 21-2

“Subhuti, what is called Dharma talk means that there is no Dharma that is truly worth expounding; this is called Dharma talk.”

Commentary:

As stated previously, all things, including ourselves, are the Sutra; what is seen is the Sutra and what is heard is Dharma talk.

Dharma talk means talking about the true-Self, or the Buddha’s talk.

The true-Self that is formless, boundless, changeless and nameless, is perfection itself and eternity itself, which is the state free from discrimination. This is why it is said to be beyond words which are the products of discrimination. It contains everything, including ourselves, and there is nothing that doesn’t belong to it. In the non-dual state of the true-Self there is no one who delivers dharma talks and no one who listens to them.  To be one with the perfect state is referred to as true Dharma talk.

Student: “How is it possible to deliver Dharma talks if there is no Dharma that is worth preaching?”

Master: “You can neither stop seeing nor stop hearing Dharma, nor can you stop showing or preaching Dharma even for a moment.”

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

A. It means that getting literal and intellectual understanding about the true-Self is easy, but that seeing and realising it directly in person through the physical body is difficult.

This is a critical teaching that we should not mistake intellectual understanding for enlightenment.

No matter how plausible and logical intellectual understanding may be, it is no better than being deluded by illusions unless we can see the true-Self.

Ancient masters would say that this is like serving a thief as one’s father.

They also warned that we should not lose true ease by getting what is easy. They meant that we shouldn’t make the mistake of losing true ease, enlightenment by striving for intellectual understanding which is easy to get.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

One day seeing his students quarrelling about the ownership of a cat, Namjun, holding the cat in one hand and a sword in the other, said, “If you can say, I’ll leave this cat alive, but I’ll cut it if you can’t say.” No one said, and he cut the cat into two. When he told the story to Joshu later, Joshu took off one of his shoes, put it on his head and went out of the room. Seeing it, Namjun said, “If you had been there, the cat could have been saved.”

Student: “Why did Joshu put a shoe on his head?”

Master: “To show the cat.”

Student: “What is it like?”

Master: “Its head is the same as its tail.”

Commentary:

Although the cat is running around the temple, no one can see it. 

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Part 21-1

“Subhuti, do not say that the Realised One entertains this thought: ‘There are dharma talks that I preached.’ Do not entertain this thought. Why? If anybody says the Realised One preached any dharma talks, he is slandering the Buddha, because he cannot understand what I say.

Commentary:

The true-Self is the state that is perfectly free from discrimination, which never admits of even a single word. This is why the Buddha said in the Lotus Sutra, “The true-Self is impossible to show and explain because it is beyond forms, languages and words, and so sentient beings cannot recognise it. Only Bodhisattvas with firm faith can appreciate it.”

This means that although he used a lot of words by the act of speaking in regard to the true-Self, which people think of as dharma talks, he didn’t mean to explain it with words but meant to reveal its function through the act of speaking the words.

Therefore, if someone, deluded by the words, says that the Buddha delivered Dharma talks, it is because he doesn’t understand what the Buddha preached. Such an act is speaking ill of the Buddha.

Student: “If there are no dharma talks preached by the Buddha, what are all the Sutras known in the world?”

Master: “The Sutra is another name of the Buddha.”

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

No matter how many Buddhas you have seen and served, you have seen and served only the illusions of them unless you’ve realised that you are the Buddha.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Part 20

“Subhuti, what do you think—can the Buddha be seen by his perfect physical body?” “No, World Honoured One. The Realised One is not to be seen by his perfect physical body. Why? The perfect physical body mentioned by the Realised One is not a perfect physical body, but it is called a perfect physical body.”

Commentary:

The Buddha means Emptiness that is formless, boundless, nameless and changeless. In other words, the Buddha is eternity itself and perfection itself.

This is why he cannot be seen by his physical body that has birth and death, a certain form, and changes.

The reason why Buddha mentioned the perfect physical body is not to describe His physical body but to reveal the true-Self through the act of saying ‘perfect physical body’. This is why Subhuti said, “The perfect physical body mentioned by the Realised One is not a perfect physical body, but it is just called a perfect physical body.” So, if we, deluded by His words, try to see the Buddha by his perfect physical body, we cannot see Him.

However, we cannot avoid seeing him even at this moment if we are not deluded by words.

Student: “If the Buddha can’t be seen by his physical body, how can we see Him?”

Master: “We can see Him by His physical body.”

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

A. The purpose of all other religions as well as Buddhism, I think, is to make people free from challenges, or obstacles.

The Buddhist way to be free from them is not to appeal to a certain almighty being for removing them, or taking us away us from them. From the Buddhist perspective, challenges and obstacles don’t exist on their own initiative but are illusions that are the products resulting from our failure to see things as they are. So, Buddhism is a religion that enables people to be free from being deluded by challenges and obstacles through teaching them to see everything as it is.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

One day seeing his students quarrelling about the ownership of a cat, Namjun, holding the cat in one hand and a sword in the other, said, “If you can say, I’ll leave this cat alive, but I’ll cut it if you can’t say.” No one said, and he cut the cat into two. When he told the story to Joshu later, Joshu took off one of his shoes, put it on his head and went out of the room. Seeing it, Namjun said, “If you had been then, the cat could have been saved.”

Student: “Why was Namjun so cruel as to cut a living cat when he ought to have had compassion as a Buddhist?”

Master: “Because you mistake medicine for poison.”

Commentary:

Those who are punished for the sin they didn’t commit are sentient beings.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway