Tag: answer

Buddhism, Enlightenment, Happiness, Koan, Meditation, Practice, Zen

Q17. We were asked, “You are bound at the wrist and feet and holding on to a branch by your teeth above a canyon….a guy comes along and shouts ….’Give me your name, or I will shoot you!’ What would you do?” I meditated on this for some time, then asked “is the answer to let go?”……as in to achieve enlightenment, do we have to learn to let go of everything we have been programmed to believe and look beyond the here and now?

Zen Fools

A. ‘Let go of’ or ‘put down’ are very popular words among people who are interested in meditation, or how to keep their mind calm. They are very nice phrases and I never discourage you from letting go of or putting down. I do hope you can let go of or put down all things. In order to let go of things, we should be able to see everything as it is, by seeing ourselves as we are. If we can’t see things as they are, we can’t let go of things. As far as I know, some people are so anxious that they sometimes tend to fool themselves into believing that they let go of everything, pretending to let go of everything.

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How can we let go of things when we don’t know what we are? When we can see everything as it is, by seeing ourselves as we are, we come to let go of things without any effort. So, I encourage you to try to see things as they are, rather than try to let go of things. When you focus all your attention to seeing yourself as you are, all your troubles will steal away and you will find that your problems are not a problem at all. The key point of letting go of things is not to let go of things, but to realise there is nothing to let go of.

Don’t try to let go of things.
That will only impose one more work on you.
How could you let go of things while not knowing what you are?
When you can see everything as it is, all your troubles will disappear before you let go of them.

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

Buddhism, Meditation, Mind, Practice, Zen

Q14. What is the best way to continue the meditation?

Zen Fools

A. The strong point of Zen meditation is that it doesn’t require any special time or special place. As I said, if you can keep the question, it is a good practice, or a good meditation, wherever you are and whatever you do. Continue to ask yourself the same question you asked during our weekend program until you find the right answer. There’s no other way than it. Just as I said, ask yourself what makes your body do what you do whatever you may do. As time passes, your question will be part of you. Then the meditation will become much easier and even interesting, and work by itself in spite of you. Then you will begin to see what you couldn’t see before and hear what you couldn’t hear before.
What is it that is wondering ‘what is the best way to continue the meditation?’ A dead body can’t wonder. If you just keep wondering it, you are just wondering and thinking. But if you ask yourself what makes your body wonder, you come to practice Zen meditation. How simple!

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

Buddhism, Enlightenment, Happiness, Koan, Meditation, Mind, Practice, Zen

Q13. Is seeing things as they are the same as uncovering the truth and is uncovering the truth the same as finding happiness?

Zen Fools

A. Yes, uncovering the truth, you will be able to see everything as it is. Then you can see happiness. You will find you yourself are happiness itself. However, don’t think the truth is covered with something. The truth is always revealing itself everywhere at all times. The problem is that we are covered with fixed ideas or stereotypes. So our practice is to trying to see ourselves as we are without any stereotypes or fixed ideas.

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

Buddhism, Enlightenment, God, Meditation, Practice, Religion, Zen

Q12. Do we have to have God or religion in Zen meditation?

Zen Fools

A. No. As I said, I neither ask you to do something nor discourage you from doing something. I only ask you to try to see things as they are. When you see things as they are, whatever you do depends on you. Now how can you have God when you don’t know what you are and what God is?

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

Buddhism, Enlightenment, Happiness, Meditation, Mind, Practice, Zen

Q11. You say we can only be happy when can know what we are when we are not this body, but is it not that peace and happiness is found when we let go of needing to understand what we are and learn to just be?

Zen Fools

A. It is one thing to say we can be happy, when we let go of needing to understand what we are and learn to just be, and it is another to be able to just be and be happy when you are faced with unexpected and frustrating tragedies in reality. You say you let go of bad things. It is fine if you can. However, how can you let go of something when you don’t know what you are, that is, you don’t know who lets go of? We can read such good words in books but it is another story to put them into practice until we can see things as they are.

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

Buddhism, Enlightenment, Meditation, One, Practice, Religion, Zen

Q10. Do we need to be a Buddhist to practice Zen meditation?

Zen Fools

A. Do we need to be a Korean to eat Korean food? Anyone can try it if he thinks it is good for his or her health regardless of his or her nationality. Likewise, anyone can practice Zen meditation regardless of his or her religion.
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All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway.