A monastic asked Master Dongan, “What is the teacher of heaven and human beings like?” The master answered, “He has no horns on his head and no hair on his body.”
Student: “Why is he the teacher of the heaven and human beings?”
Master: “Because there is nothing he doesn’t know.”
Commentary:
There is nothing that the Buddha doesn’t know although he has no eyes and no ears, and no place that he can’t reach although he has no limbs.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Part 10-2
“Subhuti, what do you think? Do Bodhisattvas adorn the Buddha-land?” “No, World Honoured One, because adorning the Buddha-land is not adornment, but it is just called adornment.”
Commentary:
The Buddha-land, another name of the Pure land which means the true-Self, is so perfect that it leaves nothing to be desired. That is, adding something else to it, removing something from it, or changing it to make it look better is not adorning but dirtying it. The truth is that it is impossible to change the Buddha-land. No matter how hard we may struggle to change it, we cannot change it in the least. To be sure that we can change, or have changed it for good, or for bad, is to be deluded by the illusions created by us.
True adornment means to realise that this world in which we are living now is no other than the Buddha-land. In fact, we sentient beings are deluded into thinking that we are drowning in the ocean of suffering because we cannot see things as they are whilst we are actually in the Buddha-land. That is, we cannot feel how beautiful and perfect this world is since we are deluded by words and forms and can’t see things as they are. Failing to see things as they are like this is referred to as dirtying the Buddha-land. To realise that this world is the Buddha-land by seeing things as they are is to adorn the Buddha-land. This is why adorning the Buddha-land is not adornment, but it is just called adornment.
Student: “How can I adorn Buddha-land?”
Master: “Don’t move even your fingertips.”
Student: “Why, sir?”
Master: “Adoring it is dirtying it.”
Student: “How holy and perfect is it?”
Master: “‘Holy’ and ‘perfect’ are rather dirt that defiles it.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
A. A great book is one thing and reading it well is another. No matter how great a book may be, it cannot be a good book for you if you don’t appreciate its meaning. When ancient masters said that we shouldn’t read books, they didn’t mean that we should not read books but meant that we should not be deluded by words.
Misreading a great book, being deluded by words is like worsening your illness by misusing the best medicine from the best doctor. For example, putting oral medication for eye disease in your eyes will be more harmful than helpful for your eyes. Just as the best medicine, if misused, can be rather harmful for you, so the best book, when misread, can be obstructive to your practice. More often than not, the phrases, or paragraphs known to be helpful for attaining enlightenment lead you to go in the opposite direction from your goal. It is not the phrases or paragraphs but you that are to blame for it.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Master Joshu said to an assembly, “The true-Self is just like a bead in one’s hand. It reflects a bird when a bird comes to it and reflects a lion when a lion comes to it. I use a blade of grass as the Buddha and use the Buddha as a blade of grass. The Buddha is an illusion, and an illusion is the Buddha.”
Then, a monk asked, “I don’t know whose illusion the Buddha is.” Joshu said, “Everyone’s illusion.”
The monk said, “How can I avoid it?” Joshu said, “Why are you going to avoid it?”
Student: “How is it when the Buddha is an illusion?”
Master: “You don’t follow it.”
Student: “How is it when an illusion is the Buddha?”
Master: “You don’t avoid it.”
Commentary:
Neither following the Buddha nor avoiding illusions is the way of seeing the Buddha.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Part 10-1
The Buddha said to Subhuti, “What do you think—did I, the Realised One gain any kind of Dharma when I, the Realised One was with the Dipankara Buddha in the past?”
“No, World Honoured One. You, the Realised One really did not gain any Dharma from the Dipankara Buddha.”
Commentary:
The purpose of the Buddha’s teaching, as mentioned previously, is to attain enlightenment, which is to realise the true-Self, Emptiness that is the essence of everything. The true-Self contains everything, including us, and there is nothing that is not the true-Self. Even the historical Buddha and the Dipankara Buddha also belong to the true-Self and are part of it. There is nothing but the true-Self. The true-Self is also referred to as Oneness because everything is one as the true-Self. This cannot be divided, or broken, nor can it be given, or taken since it is formless, boundless and changeless. The Dipankara Buddha just helped the historical Buddha to realise the true-Self in the past but didn’t and couldn’t grant anything to him. This is why Subhuti said that the Buddha really did not gain any Dharma from Dipankara Buddha.
There is a very well-known story that is popular with people. Once the Buddha lifted a flower during his Dharma talk, then, only Mahakasyapa smiled at it. At that time the Buddha said, “I have the Eye of Dharma, and now I pass it on to Mahakasyapa.” This is very likely to allure people to be confused into thinking that there was something that the Buddha gave to Mahakasyapa. The fact was not that the Buddha gave something to Mahakasyapa but that he just revealed the true-Self through his words and action for the purpose of showing it to the assembly.
Let me introduce a story that substantiates that the Buddha didn’t pass on anything to Mahakasyapa. After the Buddha’s death, Ananda once asked Mahakasyapa, “What else did you get from the Buddha except his robe and bowl?” Mahakasyapa said, “Ananda.” Ananda responded, “Yes.” Mahakasyapa said, “Break the flagpole by the door outside.” In the end, Ananda was able to attain enlightenment, or realise the true-Self through this short dialogue. This conversation shows well what the Buddha meant by the words ‘I have the Eye of Dharma, and now I pass it on to Mahakasyapa’.
We should remember that the aim of all words and acts by the Buddha is just to reveal the true-Self to sentient beings and we ought to seek to know what the Buddha took the trouble to show to us.
Student: “What is it that the Buddha wanted to show to people?”
Master: “You and I are showing it to each other.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
A. The core of the Buddha’s teaching is to help people to escape from illusions. Typical illusions are words and doctrines made up of words. The key problem is that we cannot help but use words to transmit the Buddha’s teaching that we should not be deluded by words. This is why the Buddha said that we should see what his words pointed to instead of being attached to his words themselves. Some ancient masters would say that the Buddha’s words are no more than vessels to carry his teaching. So, we should try to recognise the Buddha’s teaching beyond words in his words.
Student: “What is the Buddha’s teaching beyond words?”
Master: “I’ve not found it although I have sought it for over thirty years.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Master Joshu said to an assembly, “The true-Self is just like a bead in one’s hand. It reflects a bird when a bird comes to it and reflects a lion when a lion comes to it. I use a blade of grass as the Buddha and use the Buddha as a blade of grass. The Buddha is an illusion, and an illusion is the Buddha.”
Then, a monk asked, “I don’t know whose illusion the Buddha is.” Joshu said, “Everyone’s illusion.”
The monk said, “How can I avoid it?” Joshu said, “Why are you going to avoid it?”
Student: “How is it when Joshu uses a blade of grass as the Buddha?”
Master: “What is humble is not humble.”
Student: “How is it when Joshu uses the Buddha as a blade of grass?”
Master: “What is precious is not precious.”
Commentary:
The Buddha reveals itself when what is humble is equal to what is precious.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Part 9-3
“World Honoured One, if I were to entertain the thought that I have attained sainthood, then the World Honoured One would not say Subhuti enjoys the state of sainthood. It is because Subhuti really does nothing that you say Subhuti likes to enjoy the state of sainthood.”
Commentary:
A saint, one who has truly attained sainthood is above being deluded by any images to the extent that not only is he not deluded by the thought of having attained sainthood but does nothing as well.
To elaborate on the meaning of ‘doing nothing’, supposing you are asked what you did yesterday, how will you answer? You may say, “I didn’t do anything yesterday. I just rested all day.” Yes, you did something. You rested. That is what you did. I think you did a lot of things during your rest; perhaps you had meals, drank coffee and watched TV. You might say that you did nothing but sleep all day long. Yes, you still did something. You slept all day. That is what you did.
One more question. What are you doing now? You may say, “I am not doing anything now. I am just sitting.” Yes, you are doing something. You are sitting. That is what you are doing. You may say, “I am just lying in my bed.” Yes, you are lying in your bed. That is what you are doing. We seem to be doomed to keep doing something without stopping even for a moment as long as we are alive.
In fact, when ancient masters advised their students to do nothing, they never meant that they should do nothing or make no movement at all like a dead body, but told them to realise that all they did, whatever it was, was empty. In short, ‘You should do nothing’ means ‘You should realise that all your actions are empty’. Then, whatever you may do, you are doing nothing.
There is a dialogue between an ancient master and his disciple that shows well this state of ‘doing nothing’.
One day a master asked his student who was sitting in meditation, “What are you doing here?” His student answered, “I am doing nothing.” The master said, “Then, you are just sitting idly.”
The student said, “Just sitting idly is also doing something.” The master asked, “What do you mean by doing nothing, then?” The student said, “One thousand saints don’t know it.”
So, a saint who can do nothing never thinks that he has attained sainthood.
When you think that you did something good, for example, after doing something good for one of your friends in need, you can be proud of your act, and that will remain in your memory. Someday the situation reverses: you are in need, and he is very successful. You may ask him for help, expecting him to pay you back for your previous help but he may turn down your request. How would you feel then? It is likely that you will feel the more ashamed and even betrayed because of the memory of the former favour that you granted him. Even if he gives you help as you expect, you are likely to take his help for granted and unlikely to feel as grateful to him for his help as you would feel to some other helper whom you’ve never helped before. In this way your good act may bring you a negative result. In some cases, you can get hurt by the good deeds that you do.
So, masters would say that doing a good thing is not as good as doing nothing. They, however, never meant that we should not do good, but that we, seeing our good deeds as empty, should not keep them in our memory. In short, we should not let even the right hand itself, not to mention the left hand, know what it does.
Student: “If we should do nothing, how should we read this Sutra?”
Master: “Read well and your reading will be doing nothing.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
A. The true Buddha, the true-Self is formless, boundless and changeless and contains everything. Not only the historical Buddha but also all people are part of it. This is why it is said that everything is the Buddha. The historical Buddha tried to teach people how to see the Buddha that is free from birth and death and tried to show it to sentient beings through his physical body. That is why he said, “He who seeks to see me through voices and forms cannot see me.”
By this he didn’t mean that his body is not the true-Buddha but that we can’t see the true-Buddha if we confine his being only to his body, thinking that his body is different and separated from the rest, that is not his body. His physical body is to the true Buddha as a wave is to the sea. The true Buddha that the historical Buddha tried to show is before us all the time. In fact, it is more correct to say that we are also part of it rather than just that which is before us. This is why an ancient master answered, “You can’t escape from it” when he was asked what the Buddha is.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Master Joshu said to an assembly, “The true-Self is just like a bead in one’s hand. It reflects a bird when a bird comes to it and reflects a lion when a lion comes to it. I use a blade of grass as the Buddha and use the Buddha as a blade of grass. The Buddha is an illusion, and an illusion is the Buddha.”
Then, a monk asked, “I don’t know whose illusion the Buddha is.” Joshu said, “Everyone’s illusion.”
The monk said, “How can I avoid it?” Joshu said, “Why are you going to avoid it?”
Student: “What is the bead in my hand?”
Master: “You can’t put it down even for a moment.”
Student: “How does it reflect?”
Master: “What do you see now?”
Commentary:
The bead reflects everything, but it neither names nor discriminates for or against anything.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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