A. Master: “An old well.”
Student: “What is it like?”
Master: “Its bottom is invisible.”
Commentary:
It is too deep to see the bottom of it.
It will quench your thirst forever if you drink it.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
A. Master: “A soldier”
Student: “What is a soldier?”
Master: ‘A General”
Commentary:
Don’t say that the General is hidden disguised.
He is so wise that he never plays such a cheap trick.
It is due to your own eye trouble that he seems to be hidden disguised.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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
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
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
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
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
A. Discussions on Zen meditation and the Dharma are a very important part of our practice because we can help one another through them. In order to make the discussions efficient and helpful, special attitudes are required for these discussions, especially in the absence of a master who has can guide us.
When you ask your Zen friend a question, you should think you are not asking your friend, but Buddha the question and listen to him in the same way. When you are not satisfied with his answer, either because you don’t understand his answer or because you think he is giving a wrong answer, you should blame yourself for not understanding his perfect teaching rather than think he is wrong. You should keep in mind that he is telling you the truth regardless of whether his answer is right or wrong.
When you are asked a question, you should regard the questioner as Buddha and think you are being tested by Buddha. Be frank about your practice, and try your best to make the best answer you can. Be neither happy because he agrees with you, nor unhappy because he doesn’t, since his approval itself doesn’t advance your practice and his disapproval doesn’t disturb your progress.
When you ask, asking itself is important because the answer is in your asking. When you listen, listening itself is important because the answer is in your listening. When you answer, answering itself is important because the answer is in your answering. In summary, what matters is all in you, not out of you.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
A. Master: “I am you.”
Commentary:
Watch out!
You are prone to fall into the den of ghosts.
When the master is the student, what are they?
Daffodil.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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