A. Master: “What do you think it is?”
Student: “I have no idea.”
Master: “You are right.”
Commentary:
Master opens the shell and offers the flesh.
Why do you try in vain to eat only the hard shell?
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
A. Remove all your time lines. They are only imaginary lines created by your imagination. There is no fixed time in the universe. Time is a typical illusion. Remove all time lines and you will become eternity itself. Think of eternity as your practice and you will become practice itself. Then, whatever you may do, whether eating, talking, or working, just question what makes your body do it. That is practice. In other words, you make yourself one with the question or your practice. Then, you can practise 24-hours a day 7-days a week. You can’t stop practising.
Student: “What is the best way to practise well?”
Master: “Don’t practise.”
Student: “Why do you tell me not to practise when I ask you the best way to practise?”
Master: “If you practise 24-hours a day, your practice is not practice any longer. That is true practice.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
A. When we say that there is nothing to attain, this means that everything is so perfect that there is nothing to be desired. That is, there is nothing to attain because all is already yours. Our problem is that we are not aware of the truth and struggle to make our life perfect in our own way. In other words, we are like a rich beggar who is struggling for a living, not knowing that he has great wealth in his bank account.
Student: “Sir, why is there nothing to attain?”
Master: “Because everything is already yours.”
Student: “Why do I have to practise Zen when there is nothing to attain?”
Master: “Because there is still something for you to attain.”
Student: “You said that there is nothing to attain because everything is already mine. Why do you say there is still something for me to attain now?”
Master: “Because you don’t know the fact that everything is already yours. The purpose of Zen is to enable you to confirm the fact that all is already yours. It is like no matter how much money you may have in your bank account, you can’t be said to be rich if you, not conscious of the fact that you have the money, still struggle to make a living.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
A. Master: “Discriminating mind.”
Commentary:
Even an enemy becomes your friend once you get to know him.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
A. When you are not enlightened, you are not even sure whether or not you have the true-self, because you have not realised it through experience. When you are enlightened, there is nothing that doesn’t have the true-self since you realise that everything is from the true-self and non-dual. Everything, whether living or non-living, is to the true-self as all winds, whether a breeze or a storm, are to air.
Student: “What is the true-self like?”
Master: “All you see and hear is nothing but the true-self. It is the way it is.”
Student: “Why can’t I see the true-self instead of things?”
Master: “It’s because your eyes and ears are covered with the names of things.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
A. I can’t show it to you because you are already seeing it.
I can’t hide it from you because you are always seeing it.
When you can’t see it, it is not because it is hidden but because you can’t recognise it while seeing it.
When you can see it, it is not because I show it to you but because you can recognise it.
When you can’t see it, I can’t show it to you because it is none other than you.
When you can see it, I can’t hide it because it is none other than you.
Student: “What is the true-self, Sir?”
Master: “Why do you ask me the taste of the food that you are chewing?”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
A. Student: “From home, Sir.”
Master: “What did you see on the way here?”
Student: “I saw sheep.”
Master: “How many sheep did you see?”
Student: “Five sheep.”
Master: “No, you saw ten sheep.”
Student: “Sir, I saw five sheep. Why do you say I saw ten sheep?”
Master: “You still didn’t see the sheep.”
Commentary:
Things go wrong when you look upon an official affair as a personal affair.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
A. The reason why we can’t know what happens to our true-self when our bodies die, is that we can’t see the situation now, I think.
Let me ask you a question, ‘2 + 3 = ( )’. What is the suitable number for the blank? I am sure you know that the correct answer is ‘5’ because it is such a simple question. How can you work out the right answer when there is nothing visible, not even a number in the blank?
You know the right answer since you can clearly understand the visible thing, ‘2 + 3’. If you don’t understand even one of the three visible things, ‘2’, ‘+’, and ‘3’, you can’t know the appropriate number for the blank. Likewise, if you can see everything as really it is, clearly knowing all things that you see and hear, then you can perfectly perceive invisible things as clearly as if you saw them now, in the same way that you would know the right number for the blank, as clearly as if you saw the number ‘(5)’ written there.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
A. Master: “Behold the puppets prancing on the stage, and see the man behind who pulls the strings.”
Student: “Who is the man?”
Master: “He is pulling the strings now.”
Commentary:
Seeing leaves fluttering, we can be aware of the existence of wind.
Seeing a feather flying in the air, we can be conscious of the existence of a bird.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
A. Don’t be impatient. If you are practising correctly, practice itself is important. Never think you are trying to reach somewhere away from you.
Whether going fast or slow, don’t have any intention to reach a goal somewhere else other than yourself. Try to realise that each step you take is itself the final goal.
Student: “What is the true-self?”
Master: “Take a look at beneath your feet.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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