Questions & Koans

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:

‘It is so. It is so’ means that a person who, through hearing this sutra, believing in it, understanding it, accepting it and upholding it, is free from all images and is never deluded by any images, is called the Buddha.

So, if we have become free from all images through reading this sutra and are never deluded by any images, we should not be deluded any longer by the words in ‘If anyone, on hearing this sutra, is not shocked, not frightened, and not intimidated, you should know that this person is extremely rare’. Instead, we should be able to realise the function of the true-Self in each word and feel oneness with it.

‘This person is extremely rare’ means that he is like the Buddha. When it is said that the true-Self, or the Buddha is extremely rare, it is referred to as rare not because it is actually rare but because it is rarely perceived. In fact, it is the most common and the most abundant once we discern it since there is nothing that is not it.

Student: “What is rare?”

Master: “It is rare when you can’t see it, but nothing is more common and abundant than it when you can see it.”

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

A. The historical Buddha realised that we sentient beings, compared with what we ought to be, are only half awake, that is, we can see only the realm of form and that we are enjoying just a tiny part of the happiness we deserve.

Zen meditation helps people to develop the latent power to enjoy not only the realm of form but also the realm of Emptiness, the other half of our lives that we possess but habitually fail to use, by leading us to see everything as it is.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

An ancient master said, “The true-Self is simultaneously as hard as iron and as soft as air. Although it appears to be present, it is invisible when we look for it. Though it is always with you in every step you take, no one discerns it. When you are in search of it, it doesn’t appear to be present, but you can neither stop seeing and hearing it nor escape from it even for a moment.”

Student: “Why is it said that the true-Self is simultaneously as hard as iron and as soft as air?”

Master: “Because it cannot be broken with a sharp axe by a grown-up, but can be lifted by even a three-year-old child.”

Commentary:

Don’t say that finding the true-Self is difficult whilst touching hard, or soft things every day.

©Boo AhmAll writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Part 14-5

“Why? This person will have no image of self, no image of person, no image of a being, no image of a liver of life. Why? The image of self is not a characteristic; the image of person, the image of a being, and the image of a liver of life are not characteristics. Why? Being freed from all images, he is called the buddha.”

Commentary:

This person means a person who hears this sutra, believes in it, understands it, accepts it and upholds it. He is a person who, free from all images, is never deluded by any images. Such a person, this scripture says, is called the Buddha.

In other words, we are essentially the Buddha, but we are sentient beings because we are deluded by images, illusions. We are like a king who is dreaming that we are begging for coins in the streets as a beggar. This is why enlightenment is compared to awakening from sleep.

In short, if we can grasp any single word in this sutra we are reading at this moment, we become freed from all images, that is, we become awakened from our dreams and can be called the Buddha as well. 

No matter how well you have understood this writing, you are still far from being freed from all images if you can’t see the true-Self in these words.

Student: “If the state, or the one that is freed from all images and names is the Buddha, what is he, or it like?”

Master: “Beyond words.”

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

A. The four noble truths are words that show what Buddhism, the Buddha’s teaching is. They are dukkha, attachment, extinction and way. Put briefly, dukkha means that nothing is permanent and that everything is in the middle of ceaseless change, whether it is good, or bad.

Attachment means being anxious to keep someone, or something and being unhappy without them. Our unhappiness begins with a mind to keep impermanent things permanently. This is why attachment is referred to as the source of our unhappiness.

There are two interpretations of extinction and way. Firstly, extinction implies removing our attachment through realising that everything is empty, and way means enlightenment that is attained as a result of extinction. Secondly, way signifies not an end but a means, a kind of practice to remove, extinguish attachment through eight right ways, and extinction can be achieved through the course of way.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

An ancient master said, “The true-Self is simultaneously as hard as iron and as soft as air. Although it appears to be present, it is invisible when we look for it. Though it is always with you in every step you take, no one discerns it. When you are in search of it, it doesn’t appear to be present, but you can neither stop seeing and hearing it nor escape from it even for a moment.”

Student: “Why is it said that the true-Self is simultaneously as hard as iron and as soft as air?”

Master: “Because both of them are the true-Self.”

Commentary:

Many people know that iron is harder than air, but few people know that air is harder than iron.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Part 14-4

“If, in the final five hundred years of the coming world, a sentient being hears this sutra, believes in it, understands it, accepts it and upholds it, he will be the rarest.”

Commentary:

The reason why a sentient being who, hearing this Sutra, believes in it, understands it, accepts it and upholds it, is the rarest, is that believing in, understanding, accepting and upholding this Sutra is so difficult that it is rare for a sentient being to do so. The core of Buddhism is Oneness, non-duality, which means that everything is essentially one although things appear to be many and different from each other. And the Oneness is referred to as the Buddha, the true-Self. What all the Sutras, including the Diamond Sutra, tell us is no other than this.

So, when all things are one as the true-Self, this Sutra we are reading now and we ourselves should be one with the true-Self. Then, there is no difference among this Sutra, the true-Self and us. Only when we realise this can we be said to be able to understand, accept and hold this Sutra. When we read this Sutra in this way, in reading the words ‘he will be the rarest’, we should be able to see the true-Self in each word instead of following the words that it is so difficult to accept and hold this Sutra that there are few who can do it.

Student: “How can I accept this Sutra?”

Master: “I am worried that the ugliness of the family will be known to the outside.”

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

A. If Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sin, why are there still numerous people who are struggling with suffering and why should people believe in and pray to Jesus who has passed away?

From the Buddhist perspective, Jesus revealed and showed his original form that is free from birth and death and is everlasting through the process of his crucifixion. None but those who can see and hear what Jesus tried get people to see and hear until the last moment can be saved from their sin. The purpose of Christianity is to realise what Christ showed on the cross.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

When a monastic asked Master Jangsa, “Does the original man become the Buddha?” the master said, “Tell me. Does an emperor sow seeds and harvest rice himself?” The monastic said, “Well, who becomes the Buddha then?” The master said, “You do.” The monastic didn’t respond, and the master asked him, “Do you understand?” The monastic said, “No, I don’t know.” The master said, “The one who fell on the ground has to get up on his feet depending on the ground, but the ground never says anything to him.”

Student: “What did the master mean by ‘the one who fell on the ground has to get up on his feet depending on the ground’?”

Master: “When winds move, they move depending on air.”

Commentary:

When everything is empty, your not knowing is also empty.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Part 14-3

“World Honoured One, it is not difficult for me to hear this Sutra, believe in it, understand it, and accept and hold it now.”

Commentary:

We should understand what Subhuti meant by saying, “It is not difficult for me to hear this sutra, believe in it, understand it, and accept and hold it.” It was not the Sutra composed of words but the true-Self that he meant by ‘this Sutra’. To Subhuti everything is the Sutra, and every sound is a four-line verse. Even Subhuti himself is the Sutra, and all sounds he makes are a four-line verse. This is why it was not difficult for him to hear and carry it.

Although Subhuti said that it was not difficult, there are few, if any, who can feel the same way as Subhuti did. In fact, to those who cannot stop dwelling on things and words, it is more difficult than lifting a huge mountain, whilst to those who can see things as they are without dwelling on them, it is easier than lifting a feather.

Once we’ve realised what the sutra is, even though we try to put the Sutra down, we can’t, and we also cannot stop hearing and reading it even for a moment, because everything, including ourselves, is the Sutra, which is open all the time. Every sound we make is no other than a dharma talk and a four-line verse.

Student: “Why is it so difficult to hear this Sutra, believe in it, understand it, and accept and hold it?”

Master: “Because you try to hear, believe in, understand, and accept and hold what is not the Sutra as the Sutra.”

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway