Questions & Koans

Part 14-9

“Subhuti, when I also recall the past when I was an ascetic of patience for five hundred lives, I had no image of self, no image of person, no image of sentient being, no image of a liver of life during all that time as well.”

Commentary:

In the preceding part14-8, the Buddha said: “When my body was being cut piece by piece by King Kali, I had no image of a self, a person, a sentient being, or a liver of life. Had I held such images, I would surely have given rise to anger and resentment.” We must understand why the Buddha repeats these same words here, despite having already stated that he has transcended all images.

There is a saying that a true disciple of the Buddha is one who can recognise the Buddha among a hundred blades of grass.

Just as only a loyal official who serves the king closely all the time can recognise the King immediately, even when the King is disguised in rags to observe the commoners in a crowded marketplace, a true Buddhist must be able to see the true-Self among a hundred blades of grass that represents all things in the universe. A true Buddhist is one who, while seeing and hearing all forms, can recognise the true-Self hidden within them, without being deluded by the images of self, person, sentient being, or a liver of life. A Buddhist must be able to read or hear the Buddha’s sermons without being deceived by the words, and recognise the Buddha hidden inside the language.

Once, a head monk visited a layman’s house to ask for an offering. The layman said, “I will give an offering only if you answer my question properly,” and then wrote the character for ‘Heart’ and asked: “What character is this?”

The monk replied, “It is the character for ‘Heart’.”

The layman then turned to his wife and asked her the same question. She replied, “It is the character for ‘Heart’.”

The layman remarked, “My wife is also fit to be a head monk.”

When the monk remained silent, the layman gave no offering.

As this story illustrates, anyone can read the scriptures according to the letters, but few can see the Buddha within the scriptures. Reading the scriptures while being deceived by words is, as mentioned before, the same as becoming King Kali and cutting the Buddha’s body. A true Buddhist must not be deceived by speech but must see the true-Self within the written words.

How would you have answered the layman’s question in that dialogue?

Disciple: “Why did the Buddha repeat the statement that he has transcended all images?”

Master: “Because you only see and hear the images.”

Only when I transcend all images

Will the Buddha also transcend all images.

Koan:

A monk asked Lingyun, “What is the Great Meaning of the Buddha Dharma?”

Lingyun replied, “The matter of the donkey has not yet been finished, but the matter of the horse has already arrived.”

When the monk failed to grasp the meaning and asked for further instruction, Lingyun said, “The splendid radiance moves every night, but few meet the True Spirit.”

Question 1: What is the difference between the matter of the donkey and the matter of the horse?

Question 2: How does one distinguish between the splendid radiance and the True Spirit that appear every night?

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You are already one not only with animals but also even with all inanimate objects. No matter how hard you try, you can’t separate yourself from them. It is because you are confused into thinking that you are separate from them that you are not one with them.

When you can see things as they are, you can verify the fact in person.

Trying to be one with them artificially is akin to seeking to unify the western sky with eastern sky.

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A monk asked Dongshan, “When cold and heat come upon us, how can we avoid them?” Dongshan said, “Why don’t you to a place without cold and heat?” The monk asked again, “Where is the place free from cold and heat?” Dongshan answered, “When it is cold, it makes you very cold; when it is hot, it makes you very hot.”

Student: “Where is the place free from cold and heat?”

Master: “There is no season there.”

Student: “Where is it?”

Master: “Not far.”

Commentary:

A sentient being is one who is lost in the palace of the Buddha.

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All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Part 14-8

“Subhuti, the practice of patience, the Realised One says, is not practice of patience but it is just called the practice of patience.”

“Why? Subhuti, it is like when I was dismembered by King Kali long ago. At that time, I had no image of self, no image of person, no image of sentient being, and no image of a liver of life. Why? When I was being dismembered in the past, if I had had an image of self, an image of person, an image of sentient being, and an image of a liver of life, I would have become angry and spiteful.”

Commentary:

In part 8-3, the Buddha said, “Even what is called the Buddha Dharma is not the Buddha Dharma.” In part 10-2, he said, “To adorn a Buddha-land is not to adorn it; it is merely called adornment.” In part 13-5, he stated, “The thirty-two marks are not the thirty-two marks; they are merely called the thirty-two marks.” In part 14-5, he explained, “Because this person has no image of self, no image of person, no image of a sentient being, or no image of a liver of life, being free from all images, he is called the Buddha.” In 14-7, he noted, “The prime practice taught by the Buddha is not the prime practice; it is merely named so.” And here in part 14-8, he again emphasises, “It is not the practice of patience; it is merely named the practice of patience.” By this, he stresses that all words are not reality; one must not be deceived by words but realise the functioning of the true-Self through them.

The Buddha, who transcends all marks and sees and hears things as they truly are, has no image of self. Thus, there is no ‘I.’ King Kali is also not ‘King Kali’ but is merely named so; his essence is Emptiness (the true-Self). The act of cutting is not cutting but is merely named so; its essence is the functioning of the true-Self. Since both the Buddha and King Kali are of one identical true-Self, there is neither a cutter nor one being cut.

As the Buddha said, “When my body was being cut piece by piece by King Kali, I had no image of a self, a person, a sentient being, or a liver of life. Had I held such images at that time, I would surely have given rise to anger and resentment.” In reality, King Kali—who was actually cutting the Buddha’s body—must have been exhausted mentally and physically by his rage. However, because the Buddha was never cut in essence, he did not merely endure pain; rather, there was no pain or suffering to be endured. Thus, the core of the practice of patience is not the practice of putting up with things, but the realisation that all is empty, and thus there is nothing to endure.

This is illustrated in the Ratnakuta Sutra. Five hundred monks at Vulture Peak, through their supernatural power of knowing past lives, saw that they had killed their parents in previous existences. Trapped by the mark of guilt, they could not enter the realisation of the profound Dharma. Manjushri, using an expedient means and empowered by the Buddha, took up a sword and threatened to kill the Buddha. The Buddha told him: “Stay your hand, Manjushri. Do not commit a grave sin. Do not harm me. If I am harmed, I am surely harmed in a good way. Manjushri, fundamentally there is no self or other, yet you merely give rise to the view that they exist. When such a view arises in the mind, the one who holds it is surely harmed; this is what is meant by harming.”

As the Buddha suggests here, one who sees everything as the functioning of the true-Self, sees even an act of harm not as harm but as the function of the true-Self. Such a person is harmed in a good way. There is no separation between self and other; it is only through discrimination that the view of me vs. you arises. Anyone who gives rise to such a view—like King Kali, who tore his own spirit apart by being deceived by images—is ultimately harming himself.

In this context, King Kali symbolises sentient beings and the Buddha symbolises the true-Self (Emptiness). King Kali, unable to transcend marks, could not see the Oneness (Non-duality) and saw the Buddha as separate from himself. He cut the Buddha’s body, but in truth, the Buddha has no form and cannot be cut. Kali was deceived by the image of the Buddha. This represents sentient beings who tear Emptiness into countless fragments called names and then suffer, being deceived by those very names and fragmented shapes.

As the Avatamsaka Sutra states:

“The act of seeing, the object seen,

And even the seer must all be eliminated.

Only then does one not destroy the True Dharma;

Only such a person shall truly know the Buddha.”

Disciple: “Why did King Kali cut the Buddha?”

Master: “Where did you hear such a thing?”

Disciple: “Doesn’t the Diamond Sutra say so, as spoken by the Buddha?”

Master: “Don’t cut the Buddha.”

Out of respect for the Buddha,

You bow before a Buddha statue.

Your heart is commendable,

Yet with a blade, you cut the Buddha’s body.

Koan:

When the World-Honoured One was first born, he took seven steps in each of the four directions, looked around, and pointing one hand to the heavens and one to the earth, he said: “Above the heavens and below the heavens, I alone am the World-Honoured One!”

Upon hearing this, Woonmoon said: “Had I seen him at that moment, I would have struck him dead with one blow of my staff and fed him to the hungry dogs, thereby bringing peace to the world.”

Question: Why did Woonmoon say such cruel words to the Buddha, just like King Kali?

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All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

The former applies to sentient beings’ lives, and the latter applies to the enlightened. When we can’t see things as they are, we are deluded by words and images. The continuing process of being deluded by and attached to them is referred to as no other than reincarnation.

On the contrary, when we can see things as they are, we are not deluded by words and images. Then, we are not deluded by the word and the image of ‘I’, far from being attached to it. In other words, we come to realise that there is neither ‘I’ who will go through reincarnation nor reincarnation to go through. This is why the purpose of Buddhism is said to escape the cycle of reincarnation.

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All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Namchun said to an assembly, “Mind is not the Buddha, and wisdom is not the true-Self.”

Student: “What is the Buddha if mind is not the Buddha?”

Master: “Mind.”

Commentary:

Mind is not the Buddha but the Buddha, and wisdom is not the true-Self but the true-Self.

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Part 14-7

“Why? Subhuti, the utmost practice the Realised One expounds is not the utmost practice; this is called the utmost practice.”

Commentary:

The utmost practice refers to the practice methods taught by the Buddha to reach enlightenment. There are the six practice methods—Generosity, Precepts, Patience, Diligence, Meditation, and Wisdom—and sometimes four more are added to speak of the ten practice methods.

The ultimate goal of Buddhism is to realise that all things are empty. Thus, the six practice methods taught by the Buddha are merely expedient means to realise this Emptiness. Furthermore, when we say all things are empty, there are no exceptions. In part 13-1, 2 the Buddha himself stated that the practice methods are not practice methods, but merely called practice methods. In part 3-3, he even went as far as to say he has never preached the Dharma.

Here, he reinforces this by saying that the utmost practice is not the utmost practice, but is simply named so. Although all things in this world appear different because they are divided and classified by names, a name is merely a virtual construct, not the essence, just as saying the word ‘fire’ ten thousand times will not burn your mouth, and saying ‘ice’ a thousand times will not freeze it. Therefore, we should see be able to see the nameless, formless essence instead of mistaking the name for the essence. The ancient masters’ saying, ‘If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha’ is a sharp warning not to be deceived by the name and form of Buddha, for the Buddha is not Buddha—it is merely a name.

Accordingly, the Avatamsaka Sutra says:

“Inside this, there is nothing at all;

There are only names. If you are deceived by names

And cling to the idea of self and other,

You will surely fall into a perilous path.”

This teaches that all things in existence share one identical essence and differ only in name. Seeing them as different because of these names is the very root of suffering.

If we see and hear without being deceived by names or forms, then every name is the Buddha’s name, and all forms are nothing but the Buddha’s form, as the Avatamsaka Sutra says:

“Countless names throughout the world

Appear just as the Buddha’s name appears,

Causing sentient beings to leave their ignorance behind.”

The first practice, the six practice, utmost practice, mountains, seas, trees, people, flowers, the sky, and clouds—all words and movements are like waves on the ocean. While no two waves share the exact same shape, their essence is the one ocean. Similarly, though the forms and sounds we perceive differ, their essence is the functioning of the true-Self. Just as every wave is the appearance of the sea, every diverse form in the universe is the appearance of the Buddha, and their names are ultimately the Buddha’s name. This is why it is said that every name is the Buddha’s name.

Striving to see and hear in this way is the true practice. When one truly sees and hears this way, just as practice is not practice, all forms and sounds are no longer merely forms and sounds. Words are no longer just words; they are seen and heard as the singular functioning of the true-Self. When the ten thousand things are seen as One (Non-duality) and words are no longer mere words, then every word is the Dharma. And if every word is the Dharma, there is not a hair’s breadth of difference between any things in the universe.

Disciple: “If the prime practice is not the prime practice, why must we practise it?”

Master: “If you take medicine correctly, the medicine vanishes along with the illness. It is no longer medicine.”

Disciple: “If the prime practice is not the prime practice, then what is it?”

Master: “It is the prime practice.”

Practice is not practice but practice;

The former is distant, while the latter is nearby.

The Koan:

Shariputra asked Subhuti: “Is preaching the six utmost practices in a dream the same as or different from preaching them while awake?”

Subhuti replied: “This meaning is so deep and profound that I cannot speak of it. The Great Master Maitreya is in this assembly; go and ask him.”

When Shariputra eventually asked Maitreya, Maitreya answered: “Who is called ‘Maitreya,’ and who is ‘Maitreya’?”

Question 1: What is the meaning of Maitreya saying, “Who is called ‘Maitreya,’ and who is ‘Maitreya’?”

Question 2: If you were Maitreya, how would you answer?

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You seem to have a misunderstanding about Buddhism. If you happen to think that we should give up our mundane life by leading an ascetic and austere life with poor food to see Oneness, it is far from being true.

Buddhism is not a religion that leads people to give up the world of form but one that helps people to attain lasting happiness from the world of form. The reason why Buddhism teaches people the way to see Oneness is that it is the very way to attain lasting happiness.

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All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Namchun said to an assembly, “Mind is not the Buddha, and wisdom is not the true-Self.”

Student: “I have learned that mind is the Buddha, and wisdom is the true-Self since I became a monk. Why did Namchun say the opposite?”

Master: “Because you heard the opposite.”

Commentary:

The Buddha always says only the same words.

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Part 14-6

Buddha said to Subhuti, “It is so. It is so. If anyone, on hearing this sutra, is not shocked, not frightened, and not intimidated, you should know that this person is extremely rare.”

Commentary:

The phrase ‘It is so. It is so.’ means that one who hears, believes, understands, and upholds this scripture—thereby transcending all images and not being deceived by any form—is called Buddha.

To say ‘If anyone, on hearing this sutra, is not shocked, not frightened, and not intimidated’ does not mean they aren’t scared of the written words. Rather, as mentioned earlier, it means that everything seen and heard is the scripture itself.

As the Avatamsaka Sutra states:

“The reason one suffered in the past

Was that one failed to see the Buddha.

Therefore, one must purify the Eye of Dharma

To see that which must be seen.”

Those who fail to see everything as it truly is in daily life and thus fail to see the Buddha (true-Self), are deceived by forms and sounds, living in constant suffering, fear, and sorrow. In contrast, those who correctly uphold this scripture according to the Buddha’s teaching—not being deceived by words or form—realise that everything seen and heard, including themselves, is the true-Self and the Sutra. Because they see and hear everything as the manifestation of the Buddha, no matter what they encounter, they are neither shocked nor frightened.

In truth, life brings rare events that exceed all expectations and imagination. However, as the ancient masters said, “Do not say you do not know it, even if it comes with a demon’s face and a god’s head” although forms differ, their essence is the same one Buddha-nature (the true-Self). We should not be deceived by forms or sounds but see the true-Self hidden within.

In the past, Master Geumwu would carry rice to the front of the Monk’s Hall at every meal, dancing and laughing loudly, saying, “Bodhisattvas, come and eat!” By performing these seemingly bizarre actions, he personally showed his disciples not to be deceived by appearances or words, but to see the true-Self directly.

Jingak the mentor of a state said:

“The drizzling rain falls softly,

And the secrets of heaven are already leaked.

The clear breeze blows gently,

And the intention of the Patriarchs is fully revealed.

Simply observe the time and season;

Do not ponder this and that.”

Layman Pang’s wife also said, “The intention of the Patriarchs is revealed at the tip of every blade of grass.” This means that all of nature, seen and heard, manifests the function of the true-Self and the teachings of the Buddhas and Patriarchs at every moment. If one sees everything as it truly is without being deceived by forms and sounds, the true-Self is already revealed.

Disciple: “Why are we shocked, frightened, and intimidated upon hearing this wonderful scripture?”

Master: “When you are ignorant, even a father of great mercy appears terrifying.”

Whether enchanted and clinging,

Or fearful and avoiding,

Both are deceptions of the Mara.

Only when you are indifferent to both

Will you see the Buddha.

The Koan:

Joshu addressed the assembly, “Before the world ever existed, this Nature existed first. Even when the world is destroyed, this Nature is not destroyed.”

A monk then asked, “What is this Nature?”

Joshu replied, “The Four Elements and the Five Aggregates.”

The monk asked again, “These are things that are also destroyed. What is the Nature?”

Joshu said, “The Five Aggregates and the Four Elements.”

Question: What is the significance of Joshu repeatedly answering “The Five Aggregates and the Four Elements” to the monk’s question?

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