enlightenment – Page 13

Happiness, illusion, master, meditaion, Mind, mindful, mindfulness, now, Practice, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q155. Why did masters say, “Don’t try to do good things”?

January 14, 2016January 14, 2016 Zen Fools

A. When you have a stick, can you remove either end of it? Even if you cut off one end of it, there will still remain two ends even though the stick becomes a little shorter. No matter how many times you may cut off either end of it, you will still have both ends and find that the middle part becomes the end. The fact is that you can’t avoid having one end as long as you have the other end. This shows that there is no fixed end and that any part can be an end according to circumstances.

When we have an intention to do something good, we can’t avoid having an idea of something bad because there can’t be a good thing without a bad thing. As long as we have an intention to do good things, we can’t avoid discriminating things. Discriminating things is against the purpose of Zen meditation.
So masters said “Don’t try to do good things” in order to advise their students not to have discriminating minds.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Bible, Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, final goal, God, Happiness, meditaion, Mind, mindful, mindfulness, Practice, Prayer, Religion, root, Uncategorized, Zen

Q154. How do you think Zen meditation can help Christians to overcome original sin?

January 12, 2016January 10, 2016 Zen Fools

A. According to the Bible, man can’t have eternal happiness or find salvation because of the original sin he committed in the beginning of time. The sin was eating the fruit of the tree of life, and as a result, our mind became discriminating, which prevents us from seeing God. The Bible says that we can be forgiven for the sin and find salvation only by believing in God.

To find salvation means to return to the original state prior to eating the fruit. And to believe in God means to see God, just as the old saying goes, ‘Seeing is believing’. Seeing God is possible by removing the discriminating mind.

The Sutras say that whatever good things we may do, we can’t enjoy eternal happiness without life and death, even though we can enjoy temporary happiness, unless we realise the true-self by removing the discriminating mind.

The core teachings of Christianity and Buddhism are the same in that we can enjoy eternal happiness by eliminating the discriminating mind. Zen meditation is a practice to remove the discriminating mind.

So, to help Christians to remove their discriminating mind is to help them to overcome original sin.

Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, final goal, illusion, Meditation, Mind, sutras, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q150. Does enlightenment have anything to do with gender?

December 13, 2015December 6, 2015 Zen Fools

A. Absolutely not. It is a very common belief that only males can attain enlightenment and so females have to be reborn as males in order to attain enlightenment. However, it makes no sense at all. That is against Buddha’s teaching that everything is empty and equal. Gender is also empty and is an illusion.

Enlightenment is to realise your true-self, that is, what you are when your body is not you. When your body is not you, how can you be male or female? Enlightenment has nothing at all to do with gender but a lot to do with how hard you practice and whether or not you practice in the right way.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddhism, Enlightenment, Koan, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q149. Does our true-self accompany us when we go to hell?

December 10, 2015December 6, 2015 Zen Fools

A. I think this is a question that can occur to you when you think your true-self is in your body and that it is so pure and holy that it has nothing to do with bad things like hell.

There is nothing larger than your true-self. Your true-self has infinite room left even when it houses millions of universes. All things imaginable, whether good or bad, happen only in your true-self. Nothing happens out of your mind. When you go to the hell, your going to hell happens in your true-self, and when going to the heaven, you go there in your true-self as well.

Your true-self never judges right or wrong since it is always neutral or empty. It has no heaven and no hell. It neither helps you go to the heaven nor prevents you from going to the hell and vice versa. It is your discrimination that creates heaven or hell and makes you go to it.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, final goal, Happiness, illusion, Koan, Mind, mindful, mindfulness, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q148. Is happiness obtained through filling our mind or through emptying our mind?

December 8, 2015December 6, 2015 Zen Fools

A. This is not a matter of whether to fill or empty, but a matter of realising what the mind is. The ultimate end of Zen meditation is to realise what the mind that you are going to fill or empty is.

This question shows well how unaware we are of what we say and how imprudently we are seeking happiness. How could we fill or empty the mind while not knowing what it is? In fact, it is because you don’t know what your mind is that you have such an idea of filling or emptying it. Once you get to see it clearly, you will realise that it can’t be filled or emptied because it is perfect, and that you are happiness itself.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, final goal, Meditation, Mind, root, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q146. What should I depend on in order to attain enlightenment?

December 4, 2015December 4, 2015 Zen Fools

A. You should depend on what you are depending on each moment. In fact, what matters now is not what to depend upon but whether or not you know what you are depending on this moment. Whatever you are doing now: speaking, listening, standing, sitting, drinking, and so on, you are doing it by depending on it. You are even reading this writing by being dependent upon it. You can’t do anything without it. The problem is that you don’t know what it is while relying on it.

To realise what you are depending on at this moment is to attain enlightenment. Ancient masters would say, “You are wandering around in search of a cow while riding it.”

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, final goal, Koan, Meditation, Practice, root, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q144. By all means possible, I want to realise what I am when my body is not me. What am I?

November 29, 2015November 29, 2015 Zen Fools

A. You can’t hide it.

Commentary:
Why don’t you recognise it while revealing it at every moment?
Don’t seek it and it will show itself.

©Boo Ahm

Buddhism, compassion, Enlightenment, final goal, Meditation, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q143. Is enlightenment the final end or a process?

November 26, 2015 Zen Fools

A. To those who are not enlightened, it can seem to be the final end of Zen meditation as well as a process for wisdom and compassion for others. However, to the enlightened, it can be said to be the final end because they feel oneness or non-duality.

After enlightenment, whatever they may do, whether wise or compassionate, it is the action of the truth. They do all things without doing since they are free from all illusions. Wisdom is not wisdom any more, and compassion is not compassion any more but an illusion to them. There is nothing else other than the truth after enlightenment. So enlightenment is the final end.

©Boo Ahm

Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, final goal, Happiness, illusion, Meditation, Practice, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q142. Should ‘I’ be thrown away to attain enlightenment?

November 24, 2015 Zen Fools

A. It is a very common saying in Zen that we should discard ‘I’ in order to attain enlightenment. This saying, however, is like putting the cart before the horse. This nonsensical saying is possible because we don’t know what we say. How would it be possible to discard ‘I’ without so much as knowing what it is? However hard we may try to discard ‘I’, it never disappears unless we realise what it is.

In fact, it is can’t be removed by force but disappears by itself when we realise what it is. The truth is not that it disappears, but that you realise that there is no ‘I’. In other words, you should realise that what seems to be your ‘I’ is just an illusion.

Trying to remove your ‘I’ without knowing what it is, is like trying to sweep away a shadow cast on the ground. If you are to remove your ‘I’, try to realise what it is instead of trying in vain to eliminate it.

©Boo Ahm

Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, final goal, Meditation, Practice, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q140. What should I do when I encounter a question during practice or when reading something about Zen?

November 19, 2015 Zen Fools

A. First of all, never try to satisfy your curiosity about Zen or enlightenment by reading books. When you hit upon a question during practice or when reading books concerning Zen, don’t depend on books for the answer to your question. The books will present you with new questions, which will lead you to read more books and they will pose yet more questions. This will be endless. That is like trying to meet your hunger with pictures of food. You can not reach the final goal through reading books any more than you can satisfy your hunger by looking at pictures of food.

When you encounter a question beyond your understanding, ask yourself the question rather than consult another book. It might take some time, but you will never fail to get the right answer from yourself. So, ancient Masters would say that reading for a day is not as valuable as practising for an hour.
Remember that Buddha attained enlightenment not by reading books but by practice. When he was asked by his disciples on his deathbed how they should practice after he passed away, he replied, “You should practice depending on the lantern of yourself and the Dharma”.