Questions & Koans

Q. Why did the whale cease to be hungry and thirsty after eating himself?

Once upon a time there was a huge whale who was very hungry and thirsty. So, he decided to drink all the water in the world first. He drank the oceans and the lakes, every drop of water in the world. However, he was still hungry and thirsty, so he ate all the coral and the seabed and all the land and everything on it. He then ate the sun and the moon, the clouds and the sky. In the end, he ate the whole world. Then there was nothing left except himself, so he ate himself, too.
Then, he became the universe.

Student: “Why was the whale still hungry and thirsty even after eating the whole world including the sun and the moon?”
Master: “Because he still had himself.”
Student: “Why did he cease to be hungry and thirsty after eating himself?”
Master: “There was no one left who was hungry and thirsty.”
Student: “How did he eat the whole world?”
Master: “He didn’t eat the whole world until he ate himself even though he thought he had eaten it.”
Student: “What happened when he ate himself?”
Master: “The whole world became him, and he was lacking in nothing.”

©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway http://ow.ly/i/xce3m

Q. How can I take one step further from the top of the 100-foot-high pole?

Master Sekiso said, “You are at the top of the 100-foot-high pole. How will you take one step further?” Another Zen Master of ancient times said, “One who sits on top of the 100-foot pole has not quite attained true enlightenment. Take another step forward from the top of the pole and your body will reveal itself in the 100,000 universes.”

Student: “Why has one who sits on top of the 100-foot pole not quite attained enlightenment?”
Master: “Because he still has somewhere) to sit.”
Student: “How can I take one step further from the top of the 100-foot-high pole?”
Master: “Know what you are standing on now.”
Student: “What am I like when my own body reveals itself in the 100,000 universes?”
Master: “You will have no one to ask this question.”

Commentary:
The true Self never needs anything to depend on, sit on, stand on, or lie down upon because it never stays anywhere.
It never stays anywhere because it is everywhere.

©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway http://ow.ly/i/xdbQ4

Q. The Bible says, “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap your left cheek, too.” How could we live in this way in the world where injustice is prevalent?

A. This scripture doesn’t imply that we should tolerate and surrender to injustice or unrighteousness unconditionally, by doing exactly as these words say. This means that we should not struggle against illusions by using other illusions, but rather leave them alone and trace them back to their root.

The most common way that we cope with illusions, especially when faced with negative ones, is to strive to get rid of them by means of other illusions. ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth’ is a good metaphor that shows how we react to illusions. This is like ‘An illusion for an illusion’. In this way, you can’t win the fight against illusions. You will further strengthen and multiply rather than remove them because an illusion bears yet more illusions. Put in another way, this simply means that you are deluded by illusions.

On the contrary, the scripture ‘If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap your left cheek, too’ is a metaphor that teaches us not to be fooled by illusions but to leave them alone and trace them back to their root, instead of fighting against them by making other illusions. In this way, we can make use of illusions as a gate to enlightenment or heaven and realise that all illusions are part of heaven, or the true Self in Buddhism.

©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway http://ow.ly/i/x9vC5

Q. What is the difference between the understanding of enlightenment through books and the attaining of it?

A. Suppose that you have never seen or eaten an apple, but have known, through reading books about apples, that they are a type of hard round fruit that has red, light green, or yellow skin and a white inside, and that they taste sweet, slightly sour and juicy.

However, how would you feel at the moment of biting an apple for the very first time someday? You will be sure to realise how unsatisfactory your knowledge about apples is to explain correctly what an apple is, even though it is not wrong. Reading hundreds of books about apples is not as good as eating even a single bite of one.

If you attain enlightenment, you will even feel as though you were reborn after death. Therefore, ancient masters would say to their students, “You must be reborn after a great death”, thus comparing enlightenment to a great death.

Some ancient masters even burnt their books on enlightenment after attaining it, since they were so shocked by how far their understanding of enlightenment was from actual enlightenment.

©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway http://ow.ly/i/x4NL6

Q. What else did he give you?

Ananda asked Maha Kashapa, “Buddha gave you the golden woven robe of successorship. What else did he give you?”
Kashapa said, “Ananda!”
“Yes!” answered Ananda.
“Knock down the flagpole at the gate!” said Kashapa.

Student: “Why did Kashapa say, ‘Ananda’ when he was asked by Ananda?”
Master: “He answered Ananda’s question.”
Student: “Why did Kashapa tell Ananda to knock down the flagpole at the gate?”
Master: “He rephrased his first answer in detail.”

Commentary:
‘Knock down the flagpole at the gate’ is so detailed that it is rather confusing.

©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway http://ow.ly/i/x0SGl

Q. My husband becomes violent whenever he is drunk. Should I see his violence as empty and stay married, or get divorced?

A. You seem to think that he who sees everything as empty ought to act or live in a set way such as ‘never divorce’. Your question is like ‘Which should he who sees everything as empty like better, coffee or tea?’ To see things as empty is one thing and whether to get divorced or not is another.

When everything is empty, both staying married and getting divorced are empty and neutral. Then, one is never preferable to the other. Which is preferable depends on your view. Seeing things as empty means to be free to make a choice and willing to accept the result of the choice without any regret because you know that not only your choice, but also the result of your choice is empty.

Whatever decision you may make, each moment of your life is a finish and a new start at the same time. Making a beautiful finish is making a nice start. You should not damage the beautiful moment of love that you had with him.

©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway http://ow.ly/i/wELFM

Q. Why did ancient masters say, “There should be nothing you know.”?

A. You are wrong when there is something you know, and also wrong when there is something you don’t know. This is a saying that expresses the state of enlightenment. Reaching the final goal means that you become non-dual, oneness with everything. Then, you become oneness with the whole universe, feeling that there is nothing else that is not you. In other words, if you know or don’t know something, it means that you are divided into two, the subject and the object: you and what you know or what you don’t know. Therefore, in the perfect state there is nothing you don’t know, and nothing you know as well.

There is a similar saying, “If an ordinary man knows what he is when his body is not him, he becomes a saint, but if a saint knows it, he becomes an ordinary man.” Once you reach there, everything is so perfectly one with you that there is nothing but yourself to compare with. Even the idea that you know what you are when your body is not you is an illusion then. How could you explain oneness or non-duality when there is nothing to compare with or any standard to apply to. Just as red is not red any more when everything is red, so when everything is you, you are not you anymore. Then there can be said to be nothing you know.

Student: “Sir, what is the Buddha?”
Master: “If I answer your question, I become menial.”

©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway http://ow.ly/i/wEKuL

Bodhidharma sat facing the stone wall.

The Second Patriarch, Suika, stood long in the thick snow. Finally, he severed his own arm and presented it to Bodhidharma. He said, “Your student cannot pacify his mind. You, the First Patriarch, please, give me peace of mind!” The First Patriarch replied, “Bring that mind, I will calm it down!” The Second Patriarch said, “I search for it everywhere, but I cannot find it!” Bodhidharma replied, “I have already pacified it for you!”

Student: “Why did Bodhidharma sit facing the stone wall?”
Master: “Because there was nothing else to be seen.”
Student: “How did he pacify the Second Patriarch, Suika’s mind?”
Master: “He just showed the stone wall to him.”

Commentary:
Do you want to see the stone wall that Bodhidharma showed to the Second Patriarch?
Break down the wall before you and it will reveal itself.

©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway http://ow.ly/i/wzQ5a