Questions & Koans

Part 8-2

“Why? Subhuti, it’s because all the Buddhas, and the Dharma of unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment of all the Buddhas, come from this Sutra.”

Commentary:

The Sutra spoken of here, as mentioned previously, is not the collection of sentences written or printed on paper, but refers to Emptiness, which is our Mind or the true-Self.

Another saying used to describe this Sutra is: ‘Every person possesses this Sutra; it has neither form nor name, and no one knows how to read it. If “I” (ego) exists, it cannot be read. But if one can read it through, one will enter the principle and accord with non-birth. When that happens, one neither debates the Bodhisattva path nor strives to achieve Buddhahood’. In short, knowing how to read this Sutra means knowing the true-Self, the Buddha-nature, which signifies enlightenment.

As the Buddha said, ‘Everything is created by the Mind alone’. Not only the Buddha and the Sutra, but everything has emerged from this Sutra (Mind), and nothing exists outside of it.

The fact that everything emerged from this Sutra means that everything is the Sutra, and in other words, everything is the function of this Sutra that is the true-Self, meaning everything is the Buddha. This is why the Sutra is called another name for the Buddha, and the names of all things are the names of the Buddha.

Therefore, each of us is a Sutra and we must be able to read our own Sutra, as well as all surrounding Sutras, including the Parents Sutra, Siblings Sutra, Husband Sutra, Son Sutra, Daughter Sutra, and Friend Sutra.

Here is a story that illustrates that the Sutras printed on paper are not the true Sutras:

Master Goryeong Shinchan, after becoming a monk at Daejungsa Temple in his hometown of Fukuzhou and studying scholasticism, embarked on a journey for enlightenment and attained enlightenment under Master Baizhang. He then returned to Daejungsa and attended to his old master.

One day, his old master asked Shinchan to scrub his body while bathing. As Shinchan rubbed his back, he remarked, “The Buddhist shrine is truly wonderful, but the Buddha is not efficacious.” When the master turned his head to look intently, Shinchan added, “The Buddha may not be efficacious, but he is emitting light.”

Another day, the old master was reading a Sutra by the window when a bee that had entered the room kept bumping against the paper window, trying to get out. Seeing this, Shinchan said, “The world is so vast and wide, yet it does not seek to leave, only trying to bore through old paper. It will only be able to leave in the Year of the Donkey.” With this remark, he gently provoked his master, suggesting that being attached to the words and letters on the paper Sutra means being trapped forever in the ocean of suffering.

Upon hearing this, his master closed the Sutra and asked, “Who did you meet during your travels? When I compare you with what you used to be, your words are truly different!”

Shinchan replied, “Master Baizhang taught me the place to rest. Now I only wish to repay the compassionate grace of my Master.”

The old master then informed the assembly to prepare for an offering and requested Shinchan to give a Dharma talk. Shinchan ascended the Dharma seat and proclaimed: “The divine light shines alone, free from the six sense organs and six illusions. The body manifests the true eternal nature (the true-Self), unconstrained by letters. The original nature of the Mind is untainted, inherently and spontaneously perfect. If one is not led astray by false thoughts, one is immediately the Buddha.” Upon hearing this revelation of what the true Sutra is, his master felt awakened and said, “How could I have imagined that I would hear such words of ultimate principle in my old age?”

This story tells how the old master, who had only seen the Sutra written on paper, was finally able to read the True Sutra thanks to his disciple.

The True Sutra that every one of us possesses can never be put down, is always spread out before us, and can be read anywhere, regardless of whether it is bright or dark. Ancient masters would say, ‘A wise person can read this Sutra without any inconvenience even in the darkest midnight, but a foolish person cannot read it even in broad daylight.’ Constantly striving to read this Sutra is practice.

Disciple: “What is the True Sutra?”

Master: “Thank you for showing it to me and reading it.”

Everything emerges from this Sutra,

All Buddhas emerge from this Sutra,

And unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment also emerges from this Sutra.

Yet, all calamities also emerge from this Sutra,

Do not let it become the gate of calamity.

Koan:

This took place when Master Goryeong Shinchan was studying under his master. One day, the master was reading a Sutra by the window when a bee kept bumping against the paper window, trying to get out. Seeing this, Shinchan remarked:

“The world is so vast and wide, yet it does not seek to leave, only trying to bore through old paper. It will only be able to leave in the Year of the Donkey.”

His master closed the Sutra.

Question 1:

What was the reason Master Shinchan spoke in this manner to his master?

Question 2:

How must Shinchan’s master act to be able to exit into the vast world?

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddhism doesn’t say that we shouldn’t rely on words and letters but that we should use them well and wisely as expedient means. Words and letters are like a finger pointing to the moon and not the moon itself.

When hearing, or reading words ‘Everything is from the mind’, we should not be attached to these words, thinking that they are the core of Buddhism. Instead, we should see them not only as words but also as the function of the mind as well, because the words are also the function of the mind when everything is mind.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Part 8-1

“Subhuti, what do you think—if someone gives seven kinds of treasures in charity that are sufficient to fill a billion-world universe, would this person gain many blessings?” Subhuti said, “Very many, World Honoured One. Why? These blessings are not of the nature of blessing; therefore, the Realised One says the blessings are many.” The Buddha said, “If anyone accepts and holds even a single four-line verse from this Sutra, and tells it to others, the blessing exceeds the aforementioned.”

Commentary:

To accept, uphold, and expound a four-line verse from this Sutra does not mean merely handing over a Sutra printed on paper or silk, or carved on wood or stone, nor does it mean memorising its characters and telling others. If one reads the Sutra merely following the words, it is said to become the discourse of a demon.

The Avatamsaka Sutra states, “Appearing before us in every place, the Buddha expounds the wondrous Dharma through various skilful means, bringing benefit to all sentient beings.” In the same way, when we see the Buddha who is always with us, when we become one with the Buddha, and when everything we see appears as the Buddha and when everything we hear sounds as the Dharma talk, then, as the Lotus Sutra says, ‘The moment one realises the true-Self, any word—whether from books we read, political discourse, wealth, or one’s profession—becomes the Dharma talk.’ We must understand that everything we see and hear is the Buddha and his Dharma, and that all our actions and sounds are none other than the Dharma talk of the four-line verse.

When this is realised, wherever we go, we ourselves are the Sutra, and our every word is the Buddha’s Dharma talk. This is what it means to constantly carry the Sutra and to expound the four-line verse to others.

To achieve this, when reading the Sutra, one must never be deceived by the words but must discern the true-Self that the words point to. Therefore, Subhuti’s saying, ‘These blessings are not of the nature of blessing; therefore, the Realised One says the blessings are many’ means that true blessing is seeing the true-Self. The Buddha’s intention when speaking the word ‘blessing’ was not the literal word itself, but a term to reveal the Buddha-nature. If accepted as the secular notion of blessing according to the words, it would be described by a limiting term like ‘many’. But if a four-line verse is accepted as the Buddha intended and transmitted to others, that blessing is infinite, transcending the description of ‘many’ ‘few’ ‘much’ or little’.

Here is a good example regarding blessing.

This is an anecdote about Bodhidharma, who came to China and met Emperor Wu of Liang, known as the ‘Emperor of the Buddhist Dharma.’

Emperor Wu: “I have built a thousand monasteries, erected a thousand pagodas, and provided offerings to over twenty thousand monks. How great is the blessing I have accumulated?”

Bodhidharma: “None.”

Patriarch Bodhidharma directly showed the true blessing, but Emperor Wu failed to recognise it. He later regretted it and composed the following poem. One must understand the meaning of Bodhidharma’s answer, “None” in order to transmit a four-line verse:

Alas! I saw him with my eyes yet failed to recognise him,

I met him yet failed to serve him.

We stood face to face yet I did not see him,

Both then and now, I am filled with resentment and regret.

Disciple: “What is a four-line verse?”

Master: “It cannot be written down.”

Disciple: “I don’t know.”

Master: “You have already said it.”

The Seven Treasures filling the three-thousand-great-thousand world,

And the four-line verse—

Only when there is no hair’s breadth of difference between them

Can one enjoy the Buddha’s blessing.

Koan:

A monk asked National Teacher Huizhong, “What is the mind of the ancient Buddha?”

Huizhong replied, “Walls, broken tiles, and pebbles.”

Question:

What is the meaning of National Teacher Huizhong’s answer to the monk’s question?

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

There is a well-known saying that we shouldn’t try to find mind with mind. The core of the Buddhist teaching is non-duality, Oneness. Don’t try to find something that is different and separate from what you see and hear. Reaching something, or somewhere means connecting yourself with the thing, or the place that is separate from you.

Remember that when you find yourself groping for the true-Self with your thoughts, your thoughts are no other than the function of the true-Self that you are struggling to reach. This is why ancient masters would say, “Why do you ask me where the food is that you are chewing in your mouth?”.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

There was a man whose mother was suffering from incurable illness. No matter how much he wanted to help his mother, there was nothing he could do in this world. He felt like running away with his mother to somewhere free from such an illness and said to his mother, “Mum, let’s run away somewhere.” Hearing this, she just made a pale smile without any words.

Student: “Is there anywhere else beyond here where we can escape illness and death?”

Master: “There is.”

Student: “Where is it?”

Master: “Not far.”

Commentary:

It is neither far nor near because there is no distance at all.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Part 7-3

“What is the reason? Because all things appear diverse and separate based on the eternal unchangeable Dharma.”

Commentary:

All things refer to the myriad things, or all existing forms, and the eternal unchangeable Dharma means Emptiness, or the true-Self. The saying, ‘All things are differentiated precisely based on Emptiness’ means that the world of various forms is the function of Emptiness, arising based on Emptiness. Just as waves are the way in which the ocean exists, and winds are the way in which the air exists, the essence of all things, no matter how different they appear externally, is all one—Emptiness, the true-Self.

Therefore, from the perspective of form, everything has a beginning and an end, birth and death. But from the perspective of Emptiness, the essence of form, there is no beginning and no end, it is infinite, and it remains utterly unchanged. Living a life knowing only the world of form as the whole, without seeing our essential, eternal Buddha-nature, is called being deluded by illusions. Seeing both things and Emptiness, the true-Self simultaneously—for instance, seeing both the shape of a lion and the stone at the same time when looking at a statue of a lion—is called ‘simultaneous cessation and illumination’ and being able to see in this way is what is called enlightenment.

When all things are viewed in this manner, everything seen and heard appears as the Buddha. This is referred to as ‘the Buddha’s body being manifested in every blade of grass’. At any time and in any place, even if I do not seek to follow the Buddha, the Buddha follows me, and I am constantly with the Buddha, unable to avoid the Buddha even for a moment.

However, to fail to see the Buddha right before one’s eyes and instead seek a Buddha elsewhere is no other than being deluded by illusions. If one follows the Buddha in this way, even the Buddha becomes non-Buddha. This is why it is said that if the Buddha follows the person, even the non-Buddha becomes the Buddha, but if the person follows the Buddha, even the Buddha becomes the non-Buddha.

If one reads the Sutras merely following the text and stops at a linguistic understanding, that is being manipulated by words and fooled by illusions. Criticising this point, the great masters of the past said, “If you read the Sutras following the words, the Sutras become the discourse of a demon, mara.” The Lotus Sutra also states that if one can see and listen truthfully, without being deceived by words, but rather seeing the Buddha-nature regardless of what words are read or heard, even secular texts can become Sutras. Ultimately, when we look at the Sutras, we must not be deceived by the words alone but must see our essential Buddha-nature in every word and phrase. This is why it is said, ‘If a wise person sees or hears evil Dharma, the evil Dharma becomes the Right Dharma; if a foolish person sees or hears the Right Dharma, the Right Dharma becomes evil Dharma.’

Look closely at every character in this text right now. Lift your head for a moment and look around. Gently touch whatever is near you. There is no other Buddha besides that.

Disciple: “When I look at a flower, how can I distinguish between the object and the Buddha?”

Master: “What blooms and withers is the flower; seeing what neither blooms nor withers in it is seeing the Buddha.”

The soft rain is drizzling,

The heavenly secret is already being leaked,

The clear breeze gently blows,

The Buddha is truly revealed.

Simply observe what is right before your eyes,

Do not measure or calculate with ‘this or that’.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

You should know that the terribly deep-seated root of the image of ‘I’ is not real but just an illusion like a rabbit horn. Eradicating the root of the image of ‘I’ doesn’t mean rooting out and removing it just like digging something out of earth but means realising that it is not real but imaginary. The belief that your being is limited only to your physical body, and that everything else is not you, is the image of ‘I’.

However, think of yourself. Can you exist, or move and do anything without what you think is not you? In fact, your physical body is only a tiny part of the real ‘I’ that is boundless, formless, changeless and nameless. Your image of ‘I’ has birth and death, but the real ‘I’ is free from them because it is boundless, formless, changeless.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

When a monk passed through a marketplace, he heard a vegetable seller and a customer exchanging words. The customer, holding a bunch of lettuce, asked the vegetable seller, “How long can this last without going bad?” The vegetable seller answered, “It depends on how you keep it.” At the moment the monk attained enlightenment.

Student: “What is the lettuce like?”

Master: “It is rootless and shadowless.”

Student: “How should we keep it fresh?”

Master: “Keep it where there is neither night nor day.”

Commentary:

Leave it alone. If you try to keep it well, it will wither.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Part 7-2

“Why? Because the Dharma preached by the Realised One can neither be obtained nor be spoken; it is neither the Dharma nor the non-Dharma.”

Commentary:

The true-Self, Buddha nature spoken of by Shakyamuni Buddha, cannot be gained or lost and cannot be explained in words. Thus, the great masters of the past said that even to call Buddha-nature ‘sacred’ is like spitting on a face washed with perfume—it defiles the Buddha-nature—and that the moment you open your mouth, you go astray.

The essence of ourselves, the true-Self, Buddha-nature, has no form and no boundaries. It includes ourselves and everything else; there is absolutely nothing that is not true-Self.

It is like the air containing all kinds of wind, and the ocean containing all kinds of waves. Just as the wind and waves cannot leave the air and the ocean, we cannot escape, gain, or discard the Buddha-nature.

Therefore, although we say, ‘The Buddha transmitted the Dharma to Kashyapa,’ and that ‘we gain the Dharma,’ these are merely conventional terms used as expedient means. This reality is something that cannot be transferred to or taken away from anyone, nor can it be discarded. The Buddha did not transmit anything to Kashyapa; rather, he confirmed the fact that we are all, just like Shakyamuni Buddha, part of the true-Self, Buddha-nature.

The fact that everything we see and hear is the Buddha is expressed in the Avatamsaka Sutra as follows:

The Buddha’s body is seated in one land,

But he appears in countless bodies throughout the world.

His form is immeasurably pure,

Filling the vast and wide Dharma-realm.

Appearing before us everywhere we go,

The Buddha expounds the wondrous Dharma through various skilful means,

Bringing benefit to all sentient beings.

The Avatamsaka Sutra also shows us how to recognise the Buddha who constantly appears before us in various forms and expounds the wondrous Dharma:

All things are neither born

Nor do they cease;

If one can understand in this way,

The Buddha will constantly appear before you.

Seeing things as neither born nor ceasing when perceiving them is said to be seeing the Buddha. In simpler terms, it means to listen and perceive things without naming them—to not discriminate or choose. In other words, to see the whole as non-dual, or one. To cling to the physical form of Shakyamuni Buddha as the Buddha, rather than seeing the True Buddha in this way, is criticised in the Avatamsaka Sutra:

Even if one were to constantly see the Buddha

For hundreds of thousands of eons,

Yet did not rely on the true principle,

And saw the world-saviour as the Buddha,

This person clings only to form,

Increasing the net of foolish doubt,

And becomes bound by the cycle of birth and death;

With blinded eyes, they do not see the Buddha.

If this reality is inexpressible in words, how should we accept the Dharma expounded by Shakyamuni Buddha for about 40 years and the words of the Patriarchs throughout history?

On this issue, Master Huangbo said to his disciples, “You are people who eat rice wine lees and pretend to drink wine.” This was a criticism of those who misunderstand the Buddha’s teachings through a literal, textual understanding—the way of gaining secular knowledge—and mistakenly believe they have grasped the Buddha’s intent.

The phrase ‘a special transmission outside the scriptures’ means to recognise precisely what the words point to, without being deceived by the words themselves. That is, when reading or listening to the Sutras, one must view every single word and phrase as both the word and the function of the Buddha. Only then, as the Avatamsaka Sutra states, will the Buddha appear in every character and every phrase.

Disciple: “If everything is the Buddha, why can’t I see it? Please show me directly, Master.”

Master: “Though I show you constantly, you always see only the old monk and cannot see the Buddha. That is what I lament.”

Disciple: “If it cannot be expressed in words, how do you teach, Master?”

Master: “I do not teach with words.”

Disciple: “Then what are all the things you have said to me so far?”

Master: “I did not speak, but you heard it as words. That is precisely your illusion.”

Cannot be grasped and cannot be spoken,

Neither Dharma nor non-Dharma,

Remove all that can be grasped,

Remove all that can be spoken,

Remove all Dharmas,

And it will be clear before your eyes.

Koan:

Patriarch Prajñādhāra attended an assembly held by the King of East India. The King asked, “Everyone is reciting the Sutras, but why do you alone not recite them?”

The Patriarch replied, “When I exhale, I do not involve myself with various causal conditions; When I inhale, I do not abide in the realm of the aggregates of form, sensation. Constantly, in this way, I recite hundreds of thousands of millions of scrolls of Sutras.”

Question 1: What is the meaning of Patriarch Prajñādhāra’s statement, ‘Constantly, in this way, I recite hundreds of thousands of millions of scrolls of Sutras’?

Question 2: What is the exact way Patriarch Prajñādhāra performs the recitation of the Sutras?

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway