Tag: realisation

Buddha, Buddhism, emptiness, empty, Enlightenment, final goal, Happiness, illusion, Meditation, Mind, present, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q199. I am always so disturbed by the noises of my family members during my practice that I end up getting upset and spoiling my practice. What can I do to solve this problem?

Zen Fools

A. Don’t think of them as obstructions but as helpers. Your idea is like complaining that the wind is preventing you from finding air when you are diligently looking for air. The wind can be likened to your family members and air to your final goal. In fact, they are what you are looking for even though they look different from what you are seeking. They only look so because you can’t see them as they are.

 

Everything is the gate to enlightenment. If you can see only a single thing, whatever it is, as it is, you will reach the final goal. Your family members are also the gate to enlightenment even though they appear otherwise. Ask yourself what makes your body hear the noises and makes your body get angry. Ask yourself what they are when their bodies are not them and what causes their bodies to make such noises. Sooner or later, you might feel more grateful rather than angry with them. If you can find the correct answer to either of these two questions, you can be said to have attained enlightenment.

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Student: “What is the true-self?”

Master: “There is nothing that is not it.”

Student: “Why can’t I see it?”

Master: “Because you seek something else other than what you see and hear.”

 

 

©Boo Ahm

 

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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

Q193. Today, I thought that trying to attain enlightenment in any way is not correct. It is dualistic. There is still an ‘I’ that is trying and an illusion of gaining something. Is this correct?

Zen Fools

A. You are absolutely right. When we say ‘trying to attain enlightenment’, it can look and sound dual because there is ‘I’ and there is ‘enlightenment’ as you mentioned. However, I can’t help but explain it in this way because there is still enlightenment for you to attain until you realise that everything is empty and that there is nothing to gain or lose. Attaining enlightenment doesn’t mean that there is duality; ‘you’ and ‘enlightenment’ to be gained, but rather that you should realise everything is empty and there is no duality.

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I talk you into attaining enlightenment because you have not realised the truth of non-duality through experience even though you have a lot of knowledge about non-duality and emptiness, and say that everything is empty and there is no enlightenment to attain. Strictly speaking, only when you realise the truth that everything is empty can you say that there is no enlightenment to attain, because there is nothing to realise any more. The reason why I say that you should attain enlightenment is not that there is duality; ‘you’ and ‘enlightenment’, but that you should realise the truth that everything is empty and non-dual and so there is no enlightenment to attain.

 

©Boo Ahm

 

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

emptiness, empty, Enlightenment, final goal, Happiness, illusion, Koan, master, Meditation, Mind, mindfulness, Practice, present, root, self, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q190. Why do illusions arise?

Zen Fools

A. They arise because you don’t know what they are. In fact, you don’t know what an illusion is even though you often mention it. You can’t remove or stop it from showing up because you don’t know what it is.

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In fact, there are no illusions at all. There is only the truth, or the true-self. The problem is that you are mistaking the truth for illusions. Enlightenment is to realise that all illusions are the truth, or the true-self. As the Diamond Sutra says, to realise that a flower is not a flower, but emptiness, is enlightenment. To realise that an illusion is not real, but empty, is enlightenment. Realising that an illusion is not an illusion, but the truth, or the true-self is enlightenment.

 

©Boo Ahm

 

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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

Q188. How can we be reborn in the Pure Land?

Zen Fools

A. Many people think that the Pure Land is a very special, heavenly place somewhere else other than the Earth where ardent believers will be reborn after death. In fact, the Pure Land is where you can go only when alive, not after death.

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The Pure Land symbolises our mind, our true-self free from illusions. Now we can be said to be living in an impure land in that our mind, the Pure Land, seems to be an impure land covered with illusions because of our discrimination.   To be reborn in the Pure Land doesn’t mean to be reborn somewhere else other than the Earth, but to realise your true-self or attain enlightenment. That is to realise the truth that we are already living in the Pure Land by removing illusions. Attaining enlightenment is compared to a rebirth since, after enlightenment, we start to live a different life from the life we have lived so far, free from birth and death.

 

Student: “Where is the Pure Land?”

Master: “You will be in an impure land the moment you seek it.”

 

©Boo Ahm

 

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddha, Buddhism, emptiness, empty, Enlightenment, final goal, illusion, Meditation, Mind, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q182. What is Samadhi?

Zen Fools

A. There are two kinds Samadhi: one before enlightenment and one after enlightenment.

The former is the state of mind that usually occurs during practice when we are fully focused on the question. Your mind is then very stable and comfortable, and you are not conscious of time passing. You feel as if you yourself were the question and separate from reality. In brief, your meditation practice is going in an ideal way, and is close to the final goal.

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The latter is the state of mind we have every day after realising what we are when our body is not us, that is enlightenment. Here you are truth itself, eternity itself and perfection itself, and so no words can be applied to it. You feel oneness with the whole universe and know that everything you can feel is made by no other than your discriminating mind. You can see things in both ways; emptiness and form at the same time. In other words, you know that all illusions are not different from the truth.
©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?

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.

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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

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

Q124. I always struggle with continuous thoughts during meditation. Will they disappear with time?

Zen Fools

A. No, they won’t disappear in that way. You can’t win the fight.
When a thought arises, you can’t lock it in even with thousands of locks, can’t tie it up even with thousands of ropes, or destroy it even with a heavy hammer.

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Don’t distinguish it as either good or bad, and also don’t try to stop it. Distinguishing between good and bad is adding one more thought to the existing thoughts, and trying to stop them is strengthening them. Fighting with thoughts is like fighting with shadows as long as you don’t realise the root. Leave them alone and just trace them back to their root. All the various thoughts are from the same root. The moment you realise the root of the thoughts, they will lose their power and change from your enemy to your servant.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddhism, desire, Enlightenment, Happiness, illusion, Meditation, Mind, poisons, Practice, true self, Truth, Zen

Q122. What are the antidotes for the three poisons against happiness?

Zen Fools

A. The antidote for the poison of ignorance is wisdom, which means the ability to see everything as it is. That enables us to see a piece of broken rope as a piece of broken rope and rotten food as rotten food.

The antidote for the poison of greed is the precepts, which aim to control greed. We should suppress greed artificially before getting enlightened. To obey the precepts in the strictest sense, however, is not to suppress greed artificially but to have no greed to control through realising that everything is an illusion. Only then can we be said to obey the precepts. For example, when we have the wisdom to see everything as it is, we don’t have any desire to run away from the piece of broken rope, or to chase after rotten food because we can see rope as rope and rotten food as rotten food.

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The antidote for the poison of anger is stillness, which naturally comes about when we obey the precepts. That is, when we obey the precepts, we have no greed. Then we need not struggle to fulfill our greed. When we don’t have to strive to satisfy our greed, there is no anger or disappointment that comes from the failure to meet our greed. Then our life becomes still.

In fact, the core of the three poisons is ignorance, and that of the three antidotes is the wisdom to see things as they are.
©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddhism, Enlightenment, Happiness, Truth, Zen

Q31. Are we living in an ideal world or aiming for it?

Zen Fools

A. We are both living in an ideal world and aiming for it. We can be said to be pursuing an ideal world in that we doing something, practising Zen, for a better life. However, the truth is that we are living in the ideal world as part of it. Therefore, the purpose of practising Zen is not to create an ideal world, or reach an unknown ideal world other than this world where we live, but to realise that we are already residing in the ideal world we are anxious to reach. We are like a fish looking for water in the water.

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

Buddhism, Enlightenment, Happiness, Meditation, Mind, One, Practice, Truth, Zen

Q5. Then, how can we see everything as it is?

Zen Fools

A. How do you think we can see everything as it is? It’s very simple, and much easier than you think. We can see everything as it is if we can see ourselves as we are, because we can see things only through ourselves. I can see everything as it is when I can see myself as I am. So, Zen is also said to be a kind of a practice to see ourselves as we are. Then how can we see ourselves as we are? How can you see yourself as you are? OK. Now, I am asking you a question? Do you have a car? Do you have a house? Do you have a mobile-phone? I believe all of you have one of them at least. When you say, “My house is small but very convenient” or when I say, “My car doesn’t work well these days”, what do they mean? When you say, “My house”, it means you own a house. It means a house belongs to you. It never means that you are your house. It never means your house is you. When I say, “My car”, it never means I am my car. It never means my car is me. Am I wrong? Likewise, when we say, “My body”, it never means I am my body, just like I am not my car when I say, “My car”. Then our final question is “What am I when my body is not me?” This is the very ultimate question we should solve, but it might take a lifetime. This is a very simple question but also a very important question for our happiness. Let me ask you one more very similar question. What is your wife when her body is not her, just like your body is not you? What are your mum and dad when their bodies are not them? In fact, we really don’t know what our wives are, what our children are, what our friends are, and so on, just like we don’t know what we are. Let’s suppose I say, “I love my wife.” In this very short sentence I mentioned, I don’t know what the subject “I” is, I don’t know what I am and I also don’t know the object “my wife”, I don’t know what my wife is. In summary, we don’t know what we say when we don’t know what we are. How can I know what I say, when I don’t know what I am? How can I love my wife, when I don’t know what she is? What does it mean when I say to you, “I love you” when I don’t know what you are? In reality, we often say, “I want to be happy”. It is a very natural idea we can have as a human being. However, how can I be happy when I don’t know what I am? How can I be happy when I don’t know who, or what, wants to be happy? This is the way we live our lives without knowing what we are(the essence of our being).

From now on, you take a (long) journey for the purpose of realizing what you are when your body is not you. I want to call this a journey for happiness, because I am sure that this journey will bring you happiness. I invite you to join our journey to happiness.
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All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway.