Questions & Koans

Hsin Shin Ming: “65. Infinitely large and infinitely small, there is no difference, for definitions have vanished and no boundaries can be discerned.”

An infinitely large thing is not different from an infinitely small thing because both of them are empty illusions. ‘Definitions have vanished and no boundary can be discerned’ means to have realised that all definitions and boundaries are just empty imaginary lines.

When there is no boundary, there is neither inside nor outside. When there is neither inside nor outside, the smallest thing is bound to be the same as the largest thing since the smallest thing has no inside and the largest thing has no outside. In summary, when we are not deluded by illusionary labels such as large and small, the true-Self reveals itself before our eyes.

Student: “Which is the larger of the two, you or the mountain?”
Master: “I don’t know.”

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Q. Why should I discard what I can keep in order to attain enlightenment?

A. The purpose of Zen meditation is not to know what you have but to know what you are. The reason why you can’t see yourself as you are is that you regard what you have as yourself. What you can keep, or discard is not you any more than your car is, because they can be taken away from you anytime.

However, it doesn’t mean that you should give up all your possessions such as your family, your house, your money, and so on. It means that you should discard all the names, or labels that define your identity like person, man, woman, your name, your age, your position in your job and so forth since they are not you but just names that define you and that can be changed or taken away anytime. So, ancient masters would say, “When all names that define you are discarded, your true-Self reveals itself just as the trunk and stems of a tree reveal themselves when all its leaves have been blown away by the autumn winds.” Asking yourself what you are when you are stripped of all the labels attached to you is a good practice.

Student: “How should I answer without labels if I am asked what I am?”
Master: “What do you mean by ‘I’?”

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Shigong’s Emptiness

Master Shigong asked Zhigong, a former abbot, “Do you know how to grasp emptiness?”
Zhigong said, “Yes, I know how to grasp emptiness.”
Shigong said, “How do you grasp it?”
Zhigong grasped at the air with his hand.
Shigong said, “You don’t know how to grasp emptiness.”
Zhigong responded, “How do you grasp it, elder brother?”
Shigong poked his finger in Zhigong’s nostril and yanked his nose.
Zhigong grunted in pain and said, “It hurts! You are pulling off my nose.”
Shigong said, “This is how to grasp it.”

Student: “How can you grasp emptiness?”
Master: “I can’t let go of it.”
Student: “How can you grasp forms?”
Master: “I can’t let go of it, either?”

Commentary:
When one thing is empty, all other things are empty.
When one thing is not empty, all other things are forms.

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Hsin Shin Ming: “64. The true-Self is neither existing nor non-existing but always everywhere before your eyes.”

The true-Self is Emptiness. ‘Neither existing nor non-existing’ means freedom from illusions because ‘existing’ and ‘non-existing’ are both illusions. These are expressions that are used to distinguish the presence of something from the absence of it, or to describe the difference between a space which is occupied by something and a space which is not, just like ‘A bed is existing in the bed room, but non-existing in the kitchen’.

Therefore, when there is only the true-Self, Emptiness and there is no space that is not the true-Self, the true-Self is not the true-Self anymore and there can’t be expressions such as existing and non-existing. In this state, we can’t stop seeing it even for a moment even though we close our eyes just as the scripture says, ‘The true-Self is always everywhere before your eyes’. So, ancient masters would say, “You are wrong once you open your mouth to describe the true-Self.”

Student: “How can I see the true-Self?”
Master: “You cannot avoid seeing it.”
Student: “How can I see it with my eyes closed? When I close my eyes, nothing but darkness is seen.”
Master: “That is the very way the true-Self is.”

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May I request whatever I want?

In the Bible, John 15:7 it says, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, then you will ask for anything you wish, and you shall have it.”

You may request whatever you want on the condition that you remain in Jesus and His words remain in you. In other words, prior to requesting what you want, you should know how to remain in Jesus and how to make His words remain in you.

Jesus here refers to Emptiness, non-Duality just as Buddha means Emptiness in Buddhism. So, ‘You remain in Jesus and His words remain in you’ means that you are enlightened, or you become one with Emptiness. This implies to realise that everything, including you, is Emptiness itself. When everything is Emptiness itself and you are Emptiness itself, you are one with all other things as Emptiness. Then, there is nothing that is not you, and you can have anything you wish.

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Caoshan’s “Love between Parent and Child”

Caoshan was once asked by a monastic, “A child went back to her parent. Why didn’t the parent pay attention to her?”
Caoshan said, “It is quite natural just like that.”
The monastic said, “Then where is the love between parent and child?”
Caoshan said, “The love between parent and child.”
The monastic said, “What is the love between parent and child?”
Caoshan said, “It cannot be split apart, even when hit with an axe.”

Student: “Why doesn’t the parent pay attention to the child when she comes back to the parent?”
Master: “Because the child has never left the parent’s breast even though the child thinks he has come back.”
Student: “Why can’t the love between parent and child be split apart even with an axe?”
Master: “Because the axe is also the love.”

Commentary:
The love between the parent and the child can’t be split apart even with an axe any more than winds and air can with a wind.

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Hsin Shin Ming: “63. The Truth is neither short nor long, one instant is ten thousand years.”

The truth means Emptiness. ‘One instant is ten thousand years’ means that one instant is not different from ten thousand years in the way that both of them are empty and are illusions. All illusions are essentially the same as Emptiness even though they look different from one another; big and small, or short and long. So, another interpretation says, “One thought is ten thousand years.” instead of “One instant is ten thousand years.” This means that such a long time as ten thousand years is also only an illusion just as an instant is also an illusion. In summary, this scripture means that the truth is beyond time and space because time and space are also illusions.

Student: “How long have you stayed here on this mountain?”
Master: “I am not concerned about the passing of winter or summer.”

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Q. Is there or is there not such a thing as absolute truth?

As mentioned over and over so far, the purpose of Zen meditation is to realise that everything is empty. When everything is empty, there is only Emptiness, which is called the true-Self, Oneness, or Buddha in Buddhism and God in Christianity. Emptiness is the very absolute truth. Buddhism is a religion that helps people to realise what the absolute truth is and that we are the absolute truth itself. My answer to your answer is “Yes, there is. You are the very absolute truth itself.”

Student: “Why am I not eternal although I am the absolute truth?”
Master: “A man, no matter how much money he has in his bank account, is not rich unless he recognises the fact.”

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Mazu’s “Meaning of the Ancestor’s Coming from India”

A monastic asked Mazu, “Aside from the four propositions and a hundred negations, please tell me the meaning of Bodhidharma’s coming from India.”
Mazu said, “I am tired today. I cannot answer your question. Go and ask Citang.”
The monastic asked the same question of Citang.
Citang said, “Why don’t you ask the master?”
The monastic said, “The master has sent me to you.”
Citang said, “I have a headache today, I cannot answer your question. Go and ask Senior Hai.”
The monastic asked the same question of Hai.
Hai said, “Having come to this point, I don’t understand it.”
The monastic went back to Mazu and told him the story.
Mazu said, “Citang’s head is white. Hai’s head is black.”

Student: “Why did Mazu send the monastic to his student Citang instead of answering his question?”
Master: “Because he had a lot of compassion for his student.”
Student: “Why did his two students make a fool of the monastic?”
Master: “They didn’t fool him but loved him as much as Mazu did, but the monastic made a fool of himself.”
Student: “I don’t understand what the compassion was which they showed to the monastic?”
Master: “I have no less compassion for you than they did for the monastic.”

Commentary:
A master who has good students is praised for his good teaching although he makes a fool of them.
A master who has poor students is blamed for making a fool of them although he gives them good teaching.

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Hsin Shin Ming: “62. The wise of all times and places have personally entered this truth.”

The wise means the enlightened, and this truth means Emptiness. ‘Entered this truth’ means to realise this truth. The term ‘entered’ was employed in order to emphasise that we should become one with the truth instead of taking it as knowledge. This scripture means that those who have realised Emptiness are referred to as the wise. This truth is called the Buddha in Buddhism and God in Christianity. People who have realised this truth are said to enjoy Nirvana in Buddhism, or the Kingdom of Heaven in Christianity.

Then, how can we enter this truth? Ancient masters would say, “You become as far as ten thousand miles away from the truth if you move even a single step.” When Jesus’s disciples said to him, “When will the Kingdom come?”, Jesus said, “It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of saying ‘here it is’ or ‘there it is’. Rather, the Kingdom of the father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it.”

Student: “How can I enter the truth?”
Master: “Come in now.”
Student: “I can’t. How?”
Master: “Pass through the gate.”
Student: “Where is the gate?”
Master: “Just come in.”

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