Category: zen

When the Buddha was alive, there was a monk whose name was Ananda. He as the Buddha’s assistant, listened to the Buddha’s Dharma talks more than any other monastic. However, he was scolded for clinging to words by the Buddha, who said, “Clinging to words for a thousand days is not as good as practising for a day.” After the Buddha passed away, some of his disciples congregated to make a book of the Buddha’s Dharma talks. Ananda thought that he should attend the meeting because he, the Buddha’s assistant, had listened to the Buddha’s Dharma talks more than anyone else. However, he was not allowed to join the meeting since he was not enlightened. Then, he went to Mahakasyapa who was the successor to the Buddha and asked him, “I know you received the Buddha’s garment and alms bowl. What else did you take from the Buddha other than them?” Mahakasyapa called him by his name, “Ananda.” Ananda answered, “Yes.” Mahakasyapa said, “Get out and break the flagpole in front of this building.” Ananda couldn’t grasp what Mahakasyapa meant in the beginning but after twenty-one days of practice he attained enlightenment and could join the meeting.

Student: “What else did Mahakasyapa receive from the Buddha other than the Buddha’s garment and alms bowl?”

Master: “He showed it to Ananda.”

Commentary:

What can be given and taken is the shadow of what cannot be given and taken.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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One day Fuke was eating raw cabbage in front of the meditation hall. Master Rinzai saw him and said, “You have quite the air of an ass.” Fuke began to bray. Rinzai said, “This robber.” Fuke went away, shouting “robber, robber.”

Commentary:

Considering that monasteries make it a rule to have meals in a given place at a given time, Fuke seemed to be eating raw cabbage in front of the meditation hall in order to test other monastics. Then, Rinzai tested him by saying, “You have quite the air of an ass”, which means, “I see through your behaviour. Can you recognise the true-Self I am revealing now without being deluded by words?” Fuke responded without hesitation by braying like an ass. He meant, “My braying is the function of the same true-Self that you are showing me.” Rinzai approved him by calling him a robber.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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

A. ‘A branch of a tree’ symbolises plausible words by the Buddha and ancient masters. ‘Cliff’ implies our lives that are doomed to end sooner or later. Most people who are anxious to escape from birth and death through Buddhism tend to cling to plausible words thinking of them as lifelines which can save them. Being attached to such words is not grasping the meaning of them but being deluded by them.

This is why ancient masters would say that plausible words are rather a stake to tether people who want to go enlightenment. Only he who is not deceived by such words can attain enlightenment. The Buddha said that everything is empty. When everything is empty, not only the Buddha but His words ‘everything is empty’ are also empty.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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

One day the Buddha was coming back from a long teaching journey. Many monks, nuns and laypeople went to meet him. Then, a nun named Lotus-colour was determined to meet him ahead of the others, including old monastics and so found her way through the congregated people by using her divine power. She was the first to see the Buddha before the others just as she had wanted. As soon as the Buddha noticed her behave in such an impolite way, he scolded her, “Why do you jump ahead of the old monastics to see me earlier than they do? Although you saw my physical body, you didn’t see my Dharma body. Rather Subhuti saw my Dharma body while sitting silently in his cave now.”

Student: “What is the Buddha’s Dharma body?”

Master: “The Buddha showed it.”

Commentary:

Disaster happens when we look for what we cannot stop seeing and hearing even for a moment.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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

One day master Rinzai and the two old teachers Kayo and Mokuto were sitting in the hearth pit of the meditation hall. Rinzai remarked, “Every day Fuke plays the fool in the street markets. Does anyone know whether he is a vulgar fellow or a sage?” Before he had finished speaking, Fuke came in. Rinzai asked him, “Are you a vulgar fellow or a sage?” Fuke replied, “Say it yourself whether I am a vulgar fellow or a sage.” Rinzai gave a Katsu. Fuke, indicating each with his pointing finger, said, “Kajo’s the Zen of the newlywed bride, Mokuto’s grandmotherly Zen, and yet little boy Rinzai’s equipped with the single eye.” Rinzai remarked, “This robber.” Fuke left, shouting, “Robber, robber.”

Commentary:

Rinzai seemed to present the two old masters Kayo and Mokuto with a question ‘Every day Fuke plays the fool in the street markets. Does anyone know whether he is a vulgar fellow or a sage?’ with the aim of getting them to share their views of the Dharma. To interpret Rinzai’s question, he meant, “Do you know what Fuke’s essence of being is when he plays the fool in the street markets?”

Anyway, just then, as Fuke came in before Rinzai had finished speaking, Rinzai asked the question of Fuke directly, “Are you a vulgar fellow or a sage?” Fuke lost no time in responding beautifully, “Say it yourself whether I am a vulgar fellow or a sage.” He revealed the essence of his being by asking back, “Say it yourself whether I am a vulgar fellow or a sage”, which means, “Ok, I am showing you the essence of my being in this way since it cannot be described with words. Can you recognise me? If you are enlightened, you can recognise me. Tell me how I look to you.” Rinzai responded to Fuke’s request ‘Tell me how I look to you’ by giving a Katsu, which meant, ‘This is how you look’. 

Fuke’s remark ‘Kajo’s the Zen of the newlywed bride, Mokuto’s grandmotherly Zen, and yet little boy Rinzai’s equipped with the single eye’ didn’t mean to either belittle, or compare them, but meant to respond to Rinzai’s Katsu. Furthermore, ‘Rinzai is equipped with the single eye’ implies that Rinzai attained enlightenment since the single eye symbolises the eye of wisdom that can see everything as it really is. So, Fuke meant “I know that Rinzai is enlightened and what he means with a Katsu.” Rinzai also approved Fuke’s enlightenment by calling him a robber since a thief, or a robber, implies an enlightened man because he is thought to have attained the whole universe for nothing.

Student: “If you had been one of the two old masters, how would you have answered Rinzai’s question?”

Master: “A sage is a sage only to one who can recognise him.”

Student: “How would you have responded to Rinzai’s question if you had been in Fuke’s shoes?”

Master: “A precious pearl is not a precious pearl to a pig.”

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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

A. Of course he is. He said that everything, including all of us, is the Buddha. When everything is the Buddha, there is no exception. The Diamond Sutra has the answer to your question, where the Buddha said, “One who tries to see me by my voice and forms cannot see me”, and where he said to his disciples on his deathbed, “Take a close look at me. Anyone who thinks that I perish is not my student, and anyone who thinks that I don’t perish is also not my student.”

He meant that because the essence of his being had never been born, there could be no concept such as ‘die’ and ‘not die’.” In other words, his teaching is that we cannot recognise not only him but also ourselves because we are deluded by the illusion of us. If you can recognise the Buddha who didn’t die about 2,500 years ago, you can also realise the essence of your being that transcends birth and death.

Student: “How can I see the Buddha who didn’t pass away 2,500 years ago?”

Master: “What have you seen and heard so far?”

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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

One day the Buddha was coming back from a long teaching journey. Many monks, nuns and laypeople went to meet him. Then, a nun named Lotus-colour was determined to meet him ahead of the others, including old monastics and so found her way through the congregated people by using her divine power. She was the first to see the Buddha before the others just as she had wanted. As soon as the Buddha noticed her behave in such an impolite way, he scolded her, “Why do you jump ahead of the old monastics to see me earlier than they do? Although you saw my physical body, you didn’t see my Dharma body. Rather Subhuti saw my Dharma body while sitting silently in his cave now.”

Student: “What is the Buddha’s Dharma body?”

Master: “It was in the cave where Subhuti stayed.”

Commentary:

Although it never moves at all, there is no place it doesn’t reach.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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

One day the Rinzai and Fuke went to a vegetarian banquet given to them by a believer. During the meal, the master asked Fuke, “‘A hair swallows the vast ocean, a mustard seed contains Mt. Sumeru’ – does this happen by means of supernatural powers, or is the essence like this?” Fuke kicked over the table. The master said, “Rough fellow.” Fuke retorted, “What place is this here to speak of rough and refined?” The next day, they went again to a vegetarian banquet. During that meal, the master asked, “Today’s fare, how does it compare with yesterday’s?” Fuke kicked over the table again. The master said, “Understand it you do – but still, you are a rough fellow.” Fuke replied, “Blind fellow, does one preach of any roughness or finesse in the Buddha-Dharma?” The master clicked his tongue.

Commentary:

In order to understand Fuke’s answer to Rinzai’s question, we should know the core meaning of Rinzai’s question above all. To rephrase Rinzai’s question, when everything is empty, not only a hair and the vast ocean but a mustard seed and Mt. Sumeru are also empty. When all of them are empty, there is no difference among them whatsoever. Rinzai asked Fuke if he knew this principle. Fuke answered by kicking over the table, which means ‘My kicking over this table is not different from a hair swallowing the vast ocean and a mustard seed containing Mt. Sumeru’. When there is no difference between a hair and the vast ocean, there cannot be any difference between being rough and being refined since all of them are just illusions.

In the realm of Emptiness, the true-Self, everything is empty and there is no concept of time such as yesterday and today. More strictly speaking, there is not only no one who can compare things but also nothing to compare. That is, there is nothing but the true-Self, Emptiness. Fuke meant, “Whatever you say and whatever happens are all the function of the true-Self” by revealing the true-Self through kicking over the table. When Rinzai responded, “You are a rough fellow” in order to test whether Fuke would be deluded by his words, Fuke nicely countered, “Blind fellow, does one preach of any roughness or finesse in the Buddha-Dharma?” Rinzai approved his answer by clicking his tongue.

Student: “Why did Fuke always kick over the table when he was questioned by Rinzai?”

Master: “In order to show what cannot be kicked over.”

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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

A. ‘Mind is the Buddha’ is one of the most common expressions that represent Buddhism. When we say that mind is the Buddha, mind doesn’t mean the one mentioned in psychology but Emptiness that is the state free from discrimination. However, we usually have an abstract image of mind and are attached to it. That is, we are deluded by the illusion of mind.

To prevent us from clinging to the illusion of mind, masters would say that we should discard mind and become no-minded. This is why ‘no-mind’ is said to be the Buddha. In fact, the mind we refer to in Buddhism is a formless state without name, which is referred to as the Buddha, or the true-Self. So, both expressions are right.

Student: “What is mind?”

Master: “No-mind.”

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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

One day the Buddha, showing a precious stone that changed colour depending on beholders, asked his students, “What colour is this?” Each of the students responded with a different colour. Then, the Buddha hid the precious stone in his sleeve and raising his hands, said, “What colour is this?” His students answered, “You don’t have the precious stone in your hands. Where can the colours be?” The Buddha said with a sigh of grief, “How can your ignorance be this deep? When I showed you a worldly precious stone, each of you produced words such as blue, orange, red, white, black and so on. However, when I show you the true precious stone, you say that you don’t know.”

Student: “What was the true precious stone that the Buddha showed?”

Master: “It cannot be hidden.”

Commentary:

Hiding it is revealing it.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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