Bible – Page 3 – Zen Fools

Bible, Enlightenment, God, illusion, Meditation, Practice, Truth, Zen

Q64. How can I stop smoking?

June 15, 2015 Zen Fools

A. Why can’t we stop doing things as we please? Many people, for example, can’t stop smoking though they are eager to stop it and some are suffering intense agony because they can’t stop bad memories they want to forget from reviving. It is because we don’t know what, or who, allowed our body to do something in the past and wants it to stop doing it now. Saying, “I allowed myself to do it,” we don’t know who or what I am when my body is not me. Likewise, saying, “I want to stop smoking,” we don’t know who or what wants to stop smoking, since we don’t know what we are when our body is not us. How could you stop doing something when you don’t know who permits your body to do something and wants it to stop doing it?

The Bible 1 John 4:4 says, “The spirit who is in you is more powerful than the spirit in those who belong to the world.” ‘The spirit who is in you’ means your true-self, the final goal, and ‘the spirit in those who belong to the world,’ implies your body, which is an illusion. Only when you know what you are when your body is not you, can you become more powerful than the spirit in those who belong to the world.

If you realise what you are, you can be as free to stop doing it as you were to start to.

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

Happiness, mindfulness, Zen

Q54. What do masters mean when they insist that we possess nothing?

June 12, 2015 Zen Fools

A. It means we should escape perfectly from the trap of illusion without having a single illusion left. Ancient masters said that if we have a single illusion, it will fill the whole universe with illusions in no time. The Bible says that the poor are blessed. The poor here are those who have no illusion. People who have escaped from the trap of illusion are aware that everything in the universe is an illusion. Such people can be said to have nothing however much they have because they know all they have is nothing but an illusion.

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

Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, God, Koan, Meditation, Mind, One, Practice, Religion, Truth, Zen

Q39. Could you describe what we are when our body is not us?

June 8, 2015 Zen Fools

A. In fact it is beyond description and can’t be reached through words, but it is not separate from words and can’t be explained without words. When reading a text, or hearing a talk about it, you should take it as more than words.

It is called the truth, the mind, the true nature, the true self, or the Buddha in Buddhism. In Christianity, it is referred to as the truth, the spirit in you, the word, the lord, or God – as John 8:32 says, “Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
Everything, whether living or non-living, or whether saints or sentient beings, belongs to nothing but the truth. The truth is neither blue nor yellow, and has neither any frame nor any form. It is neither existing nor non-existent, and since it is boundless like the empty air, not only does it have no inside and no outside but also it can’t be measured. It is with us all the time, and we can’t escape it even for a moment.

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

Buddhism, Meditation, One, Practice, Religion, Truth, Zen

Q30. When we help others we get such a great feeling….is this just us patting oneself on the back, or is it because that we are all one and by helping others we truly are helping our self?

June 6, 2015 Zen Fools

A. If you get a great feeling, as most people do, it is likely to be a kind of sense of accomplishment. We have been taught and told to help others in need since our kindergarten days. However, we usually feel that we have not helped others as much as we think we should, and we always feel guilty or burdened unconsciously, for it as though we didn’t do our homework. When we help others, we get a kind of accomplishment we would feel when no one but I in the class did the homework in our school days and, enjoying secret pride, we pat ourselves on the back just like our teachers did to us.

Let me ask you a question. Do you happen to get such a great feeling when you feed yourself? In fact, if you had helped others because you felt oneness with them, you would have felt it natural rather than great. The Bible says, “When you help others, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand does.” However, Zen books say, “When you help others, don’t let even your right hand know what your right hand does.” This is a saying that shows the essence of Zen. You should not have even the idea that you helped someone. You should feel as natural as if you buy yourself lunch, when you serve a nice lunch to a hungry man. That is, to love your neighbours as yourself – just like the Bible says.

Happiness, Meditation, Practice, Truth, Zen

Q3. Why can’t we see happiness?

June 3, 2015June 6, 2015 Zen Fools

A. Let me ask you a question. Why can’t we see happiness? Why do you think we can’t see happiness? Does it hide itself when we try to see it? No, I don’t think so. Then why can’t we see it?
It is not because happiness hides itself but because we can not see things as they are. Since we can’t see things as they are, we misunderstand things, that is, we have illusions about things. We mistake what we don’t know for what we know. Although we don’t know what happiness is, we believe we know it. And our misunderstanding, or illusion, is the main source or the main root of our unhappiness.
Let me give an example of the misunderstanding that comes from not seeing things as they are. One day I had an opportunity to talk with some Christians. One of them said that he was anxious to feel the answer from God when he prayed God. He was very sorry that he couldn’t receive the answer from God. I said to him, “How long have you been a Christian?” He said, “More than 20 years.” I asked him, “Have you ever seen God?” He looked somewhat embarrassed to hear my question, and replied, “What? How is it possible? God is God and we are human beings. How can we human beings see God? What a nonsense!” My response was, “How is it possible? We say Seeing is believing. How could you believe in God for 20 years without seeing him? It means you have believed what you don’t know, or can’t prove. You have not known what you believe. How can you expect to receive the answer from God, while you don’t know what God is or who God is? Then how can you say that you have believed in God? What a nonsense! As far as I know, the Bible says that God is everywhere and anywhere at any time, and there is no place where he is not. Then why can’t we see him? We should be able to see him anywhere and at any time, unless what the Bible says is false. I believe what the Bible says is true. Then why can’t we see him? It’s not because the Bible is telling a lie, but because we can’t see things as they are. You have no one but yourself to blame. You have had an illusion of God without knowing what he is. You have had a misunderstanding of God.”
This is the way we live our life when we don’t see things as they are.
Then, do you think you are different from the person I have just mentioned above? I am afraid I don’t think so. You are the same in the sense that you are seeking something you don’t know.