A. Student: “It’s hidden in the sofa.”
Commentary:
Even the sun looks hidden to the blind while clearly revealing itself to the sharp-sighted.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Tag: practise
Q187. How can we do our best in our practice without being attached to enlightenment?
A. Let’s suppose you want to go for an excursion by car to New York City, across the Continent of North America from San Fransisco, California. In order to reach your destination, which side do you think you should pay more of your attention to, your goal, New York City or careful and safe driving? Safe arrival at your goal is the result of your careful driving. If you are more preoccupied with your destination rather than with safe driving, you are likely to be impatient and want to reach there as soon as possible. The impatience to reach your goal quickly can tempt you to drive too fast, which can cause your car to have trouble or an accident. That can make your journey take longer than it should, or make it difficult for you to continue your journey.
Focus on how to practise well. You should pay all your attention to your practice and not to enlightenment. Attachment to enlightenment can cause you to have yet another strong illusion that brings negative side effects such as being neglectful of your family, your business or your health. This just is making matters worse while trying to improve things. Just as it is not the attachment to your destination but safe driving that takes you to your destination, so it is not the attachment to enlightenment but diligent practice that leads you to enlightenment.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Q186. Student: “Why is it so difficult to express the true-self?”
A. Master: “Not difficult at all.”
Student: “Do it for me, Sir.”
Master: “Difficult.”
Commentary:
Don’t draw a bow after the thief ran away.
If I were asked to do it, I would say, “Easy”.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Q185. How can I be on the middle path?
A. The best way to be in the middle is to eliminate either of both extremes. If you remove either of them, the other disappears by itself, because they exist relying on each other. The right, for example, can’t exist without the left, and the left can’t exist without the right. There can’t be wrong without right and the other way around.
However, don’t make the mistake of wasting your efforts to remove either of them by force. You can never succeed in removing them in that way because they are illusionary and not real. The only way to remove them is to realise the truth that the extremes are not real things but just illusions created by your discrimination. When we don’t think of the right and the left, there is no right side and no left side. Only when we fix one side as the left does the opposite side become the right. Therefore, once you realise that one extreme is not real but illusionary, the other extreme disappears by itself.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Q183. Student: “How can I take the boat that crosses the sea of birth and death?”
A. Master: “Get aboard.”
Commentary:
If you get aboard, you will sink.
If not, you won’t cross the river.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Q181. What shall I do when I can’t concentrate on the question?
A. People who start Zen meditation can find it somewhat difficult to concentrate on the question in the beginning. You don’t have to be concerned about the matter since that is a very common phenomenon for beginners.
In fact, you should know that this is rather a good time to practise because what you are seeking is revealing itself. The root of the idea that you can’t concentrate on the question is the very thing that you should realise.
If you, while thinking that you can’t concentrate on you question, take the idea as true, you are being tricked by the illusion. You, however, are practising well if you try to find out where the idea comes from, because the purpose of our practice is to realise the root, or the source of our thoughts.
Try to focus on your question. When your concentration is very weak and it occurs to you that you don’t practice well, don’t agree with the idea but trace the thought back to the root from which it comes. Sooner or later you will find yourself absorbed in the question.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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?
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
Q178. Isn’t Zen meditation against Christianity? Do I have to cease being Christian in order to practice Zen meditation?
A. I never ask people to change their religions or cease keeping their religions, but encourage them to be better adherents of their religions than before. I tell people to realise what the object of their faith is, whether God or Buddha in order that they may be better followers of their religions.
Saying that you believe in Buddha or God without knowing what or who they are, is affronting them, not paying homage to them. Let’s suppose there is a person who always says that he loves you. He doesn’t know you, and never tries to find out where you are and what you are like. However, he always wants you to help him. Does his love for you make sense? That is blind faith and idol worship. There is an old saying, ‘Seeing is believing’. Only when you can see them can you have true faith in God or Buddha and be a genuine believer in your religion.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Q176. How can we control our thoughts?
A. A foolish man tries to control his thoughts while a wise man tries to control his mind. If you want to control your thoughts as you please, you should conquer your mind, that is, realise your mind. Trying to control each of your thoughts is like trying to win the battle by fighting individually each of the thousands of enemy soldiers in the battle field. There is no hope for success in this way. The most efficient and best way to win the battle is to capture the General who directs all the enemy soldiers. To realise your mind which is the root of all your thoughts is to capture the General.
What makes it difficult to capture the General is that we can’t recognise him easily because he is hidden disguised as one of the enemy soldiers. You should capture a soldier and interrogate him deliberately to find out who orders him. If he dies, get another captive and examine him more deliberately. Be determined to continue this to the end. Before long, the General will appear and say, “Why are you wasting your effort while I am always with you?”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Q 175. Is it okay to try to heal ourselves through mind-control instead of taking medicine when we are sick because everything is from mind?
A. There are people think they can cure themselves of any illness through mind-control by a kind of meditation practice instead of taking medication because everything is created by mind. They are misunderstanding the words, ‘Everything is created by mind’. They are unaware of the fact that medication is also created by mind, while saying that everything is created by mind. When you are well, there is no medicine. But everything that you take can be medicine when you are ill. If you think of daily food as important medicine and take it as sincerely as if you take medicine, then your everyday food can play more than the role of daily food that only meets your hunger, in your recovering from illness. Besides, if you regard your medicine as being rather good food that can make up for your nutritional deficiency instead of being just a medicinal substance, you can escape from or at least alleviate the stress, or the obsession that you have to take medicine.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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