Tag: prayer

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

Q248. In the Bible, Matthew 5:48 it says, “You must be perfect – just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” How could we be perfect like God?

Zen Fools

A. In fact, we have always been and will be perfect forever, and there is nothing imperfect. ‘Perfect’ and ‘imperfect’ are all the products of our discrimination. How could there be ‘good’ and ‘bad’, or ‘beautiful’ and ‘ugly’, without discrimination? It is because of our discrimination that all things including us look imperfect.

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To be perfect just as your Father in heaven is, means to realise the truth that you are perfect and not to turn ‘imperfect you’ into ‘perfect you’. In order to realise the truth, we must cease to discriminate, or remove illusions, and see everything as it is. Matthew 5:45 says, “He makes his sun shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil.” This is showing that God also doesn’t discriminate between good and bad.

 

Student: “How can I be perfect like Buddha?”

Master: “Don’t stain yourself with ‘perfect’.”

 

 

©Boo Ahm

 

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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

Q232. Shall I pray to Buddha for my enlightenment?

Zen Fools

A. If you know what Buddha is, it means that you have already attained enlightenment. Then, you need not pray to Him for enlightenment any longer. If you are not enlightened, it means that you don’t know what Buddha is. Then, how would you pray to Him while not knowing what or who he is and where he is? If you want to pray to Him for your enlightenment, do your best to realise what He is before you pray. That is Zen meditation.

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Student: “Shall I pray to Buddha for my enlightenment?”

Master: “Not bad. Tell me where He is. I also hope to pray to Him.”

Student: “I don’t know where He is.”

Master: “What nonsense! How can you pray to Him while not knowing where He is?”

Student: “What shall I do, Sir?”

Master: “Why are you, ‘King’, going to make yourself a beggar?”

 

 

©Boo Ahm

 

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Bible, Buddha, Buddhism, desire, emptiness, empty, final goal, God, illusion, Meditation, Prayer, root, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q211. Why doesn’t God listen to me when I cry to him for help?

Zen Fools

A. It is not that God doesn’t listen to you, but that you are deaf to him because you are involved in listening to only your familiar noises. It is not that he hides himself from you, but that you are blind to him since you are preoccupied in keeping company only with familiar figures. He sometimes whispers and sometimes shouts. He sometimes shakes you, from time to time pushes you and once in a while pulls you. It is not God but you that are to blame for not receiving help from him. If you can cut off all images and names, his voice and figure will sound and look clear to you.

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©Boo Ahm

 

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

 

Bible, Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, God, Happiness, love, Meditation, Mind, Practice, Prayer, Religion, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q178. Isn’t Zen meditation against Christianity? Do I have to cease being Christian in order to practice Zen meditation?

Zen Fools

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.

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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

 

Bible, Buddha, Buddhism, God, Meditation, Practice, Prayer, Religion, Zen

Q136. What do you think of praying to God or Buddha?

Zen Fools

A. We can see a lot of people not only pray to them but also offer plenty of money to temples or churches as a token of their faith in Buddha or God, while ignoring many suffering people who are in need. People want to make a deal with God or Buddha, just like they may bribe public officials to do something they want to be done. In brief, they take advantage of their prayer to Buddha or God as a means to satisfy and justify their greed and hypocrisy.

It is said that God or Buddha is love itself, compassion itself and justice itself and that he is so almighty that he can fulfill our prayers. Why are so many starving in the world and why do endless wars break out and disasters befall people at this time while so many clergymen, priests and monks are praying all around the world? Why does a charitable God who says, “Love your neighbour as yourself” always seem to side with rich, strong countries or people? Why have so many countries been engaged in wars throughout history in the name of religion?

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I don’t think that prayer itself is bad. However, why do these things happen in spite of so much prayer by so many people around the world? It is because they don’t know whom they pray to or worship because they don’t know themselves and therefore they do not know who is praying. They also don’t know how to worship or pray because they don’t know whom they worship or pray to. Therefore, they commit brutal carnage while speaking of Jesus’s love with their mouths, and spend an untold sum of money on producing weapons while saying their prayers.

I never discourage you from praying, but encourage you to pray in the right way. In order to pray in the right way, you should know at least who prays to whom. When you don’t know this, trying to find out who prays to whom it is a true prayer.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

God, Meditation, Practice, Zen

Q115. Should I stop going to church and praying to God in order to practice Zen meditation?

Zen Fools

A. I never discourage anyone from doing anything. Whatever you do is up to you. I am only asking you to try to realise who or what does it when you do something. You very often don’t know what you are doing since you don’t know who is doing it. How could you get your thing done well when not knowing who is doing what?

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I never ask you stop going to church or praying to God but encourage you to know what leads your body to church when you go to church and what makes your body pray when you pray to God.
Just ask yourself what is making your body do what you do, whatever you may do.
©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddha, Buddhism, Meditation, Zen

Q33. When I go to temple, I feel protected while praying there, by something or someone and feel more comfortable in a temple than at home. Is my going to temple wrong?

Zen Fools

A. If you feel as you mentioned in your question without knowing what you are, or what the Buddha is, it shows that you are addicted to the illusion of the Buddha. That is, you are enslaved by the illusion of the Buddha.

I never discourage you from doing anything but encourage you to ask yourself what it is that makes your body do what you do whatever you do, whether going to temple or going to church. Why do you go to the temple? If you go to temple to pray to the Buddha, you should know at least two things: What you are and what the Buddha is. Not knowing what you are, how can you say that you pray while not knowing who prays? Not knowing what the Buddha is, how can you pray to the Buddha? You should know that a temple is not a place for praying to the Buddha, but a place for realising what you are when your body is not you.

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When freed from the illusions of all things including the Buddha, you can realise what you are when your body is not you. Supposing you pray while not knowing the object of your worship; what is the difference between you and the primitive people who prayed to a huge tree, or a gigantic rock and the sun, or the moon?

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