enlighten – Page 8

Bible, Buddha, Buddhism, emptiness, empty, Enlightenment, final goal, God, illusion, Meditation, Mind, Practice, Prayer, Religion, root, self, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q179. You say that the Sutras are not different from the Bible. Could you interpret ‘Jesus’s walking on the water’ from the Bible in your view?

March 24, 2016March 24, 2016 Zen Fools

A. Water represents our illusions. ‘Walking on the water’ symbolises ‘living free from the trap of illusions’, that is, Jesus didn’t sink in illusions, which means he was not fooled by them. The scenario that they were fishing in the water is symbolising our life that we are leading in illusions. The fact that Peter started walking on the water to Jesus means that he had a strong faith in Jesus and believed the water to be an illusion, even though he didn’t realise the truth himself. The scene, where noticing the strong wind, Peter was afraid and started to sink down in the water means that he didn’t realise the wind was also an illusion because he was not enlightened.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddhism, Enlightenment, final goal, master, Mind, Practice, root, student, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q174. Student: “What is your true-self?”

March 13, 2016March 13, 2016 Zen Fools

A. Master: “A gate.”

Student: “How can I see it?”

Master: “Open it.”

Student: “How can I open it?”

Master: “Break it open.”

Commentary:

All gates are wide open.

Don’t bump into the gate itself, just pass through the gateway.

Trying to open it is turning your back on it.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, final goal, illusion, Koan, master, Meditation, Mind, Practice, present, Religion, root, self, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q173. Where do we go after we die?

March 10, 2016March 10, 2016 Zen Fools

A. If you are anxious to know where you will go after death, you should know where you are now. How could you expect to know your future which is invisible, not knowing the present right before your eyes? Once you know where you are standing now, you can know not just where you will go after death but also where you were before you were born. In order to know where you are, you, first of all, should know what you are. How could you know where you are, not knowing what you are?

Your true-self is not born and does not die. It has always been and will be the same without any change forever. It never changes at all. You are eternity itself. Death and birth are only illusions. The problem is that you are not aware of this truth because you can’t see things as they are. The end of Zen meditation is to experience the truth through your body.

Do you want to know where you will go after your death?
Watch carefully what you are stepping on.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, final goal, Koan, master, Meditation, Mind, mindful, Practice, root, self, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q172. Is mind different from thoughts?

March 8, 2016March 8, 2016 Zen Fools

A. Thoughts are to mind what winds are to the air and waves are to the sea. In other words, thoughts are the actions of mind, and thoughts are temporary but mind is permanent. In brief, mind is the root of all thoughts, and is called true-self as well in Buddhism.

When we can see mind, the root of thoughts clearly, we can control thoughts, but most people are controlled by them because they cannot see mind for thoughts. After all, we become enslaved by the thoughts produced by us. Zen meditation is a practice to see mind.
©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, final goal, illusion, master, Meditation, Mind, root, self, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q171. Student: “What are you like when your body is not you?”

March 6, 2016 Zen Fools

A. Master: “It’s like a mountain.”

Commentary:
Oh! Mountain!
It’s also like a rat.
If I were asked the question, I would say, “A mountain runs like a rat.”
©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, Koan, master, Meditation, Mind, mindful, mindfulness, Practice, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q169. I was told to put my mind down and not to think of anything by my ex-master. How can I put down my mind?

March 1, 2016March 1, 2016 Zen Fools

A. That is like telling a baby who can’t even stand on his own feet to run as fast as a sprinter. The first thing you should do in order to put your mind down is to know what your mind is. How would it be possible for you to put your mind down when you don’t know what it is? The key point in Zen meditation is whether or not you realise what your mind is, and not whether to put it down or not. Once you realise what your mind is, holding it or putting it down is up to you.

One of the most common mistakes we make is to think that we know what we don’t know. You seem to be making the same mistake of trying to put your mind down, thinking that you know your mind while in fact you don’t know it. If you are anxious to put your mind down, do try to realise what it is before trying to put it down in vain. In fact, once you realise what your mind is, you can be said to have completed your practice, or to have attained enlightenment. Should you see your master again, first of all ask him what your mind is.
©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddha, Buddhism, emptiness, final goal, Happiness, illusion, Koan, master, Meditation, Mind, mindful, mindfulness, Practice, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q168. Student: “What are you when your body is not you?”

February 28, 2016February 28, 2016 Zen Fools

A. Master: “True-self.”
Student: “Could you open your mind and show it to me?”
Master: “Of course. Flower. Sky. Tree. Stone.”

Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, final goal, illusion, Koan, master, Meditation, Mind, Practice, root, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q163. I wonder why you say that we need no more practice after enlightenment, while most masters insist that we continue to practise after enlightenment.

February 16, 2016February 16, 2016 Zen Fools

A. What is enlightenment? It means to realise that everything is empty and an illusion. To the enlightened, there is nothing to obtain because everything is an illusion. They are aware that not only practice but also enlightenment is an illusion. Then, practice, to try to obtain enlightenment is to make another illusion. In brief, the purpose of practice is to remove illusions. Why should we make new illusions while trying to remove illusions?

Some people say it takes time to remove old bad habits that we have had for a lifetime even after enlightenment. However, the enlightened never make an artificial effort to remove them, but leave them alone to disappear by themselves of their own accord, because they know that not only old bad habits but also the disappearance of them is empty.
Waves in the sea, however wild, naturally grow calm with time when the storm stops.

©Boo Ahm

Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, final goal, illusion, master, Meditation, Mind, One, Religion, root, self, student, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q162. Student: “What are you when your body is not you?”

February 14, 2016February 14, 2016 Zen Fools

A. Master: “I am you.”

Commentary:
Watch out!
You are prone to fall into the den of ghosts.

Buddha, Buddhism, emptiness, empty, Enlightenment, final goal, Happiness, illusion, Meditation, mindful, mindfulness, One, Practice, root, self, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q160. If everything, even enlightenment is empty and just an illusion, why should we try to attain enlightenment?

February 9, 2016 Zen Fools

A. If we really know that everything is an illusion, we don’t have to make an effort to attain enlightenment since enlightenment is also then an illusion. The reason for trying to obtain enlightenment is that we have not realised in person the truth while saying that everything is empty. The knowledge of enlightenment is not enlightenment itself. The former is as different from the latter as the knowledge of a meal is different from eating the meal. The knowledge of enlightenment can no more give us eternal happiness than the knowledge of food can satisfy our hunger. We practise in order to experience, in person, the truth that everything is empty.