Tag: what are you?

Buddhism, Enlightenment, Practice, Truth, Zen

Q55. How can I remove my ego?

Zen Fools

A. Don’t try to remove your ego until you know what it is. You are likely to try hard in vain because you strive to eliminate something you don’t know. Though you say that you want to remove your ego, you actually don’t know what your ego is because you can’t see yourself as you are. How could you know what your ego is while not knowing yourself? You had better try to see yourself as you are instead of trying to eliminate your ego. When you can see yourself as you are, your ego will vanish of itself.

File0406a_thumb - Copy

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

Enlightenment, Koan, Meditation, Mind, Truth, Zen

Q50. Student: What are you when your body is not you?

Zen Fools

Master: Two plus three is five.
Student: I know that, too.
Master: Then you are a master, too.
Student: I didn’t ask you about numbers.
Master: I didn’t talk about numbers, either.

SRH_0343a_thumb - Copy

Commentary:
Master is pointing to the moon with his finger.
Why aren’t you looking at the moon but the finger?
If I were the student, I would say, “You are wrong, sir. Two plus three is seven.”

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

Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, Koan, Meditation, Practice, Truth, Zen

Q34. Would you recommend any other way to practice Zen, when I feel tired of the question ‘What am I when my body is not me?’

Zen Fools

A. If you feel tired of asking yourself the same question, I’d say two things.
One is that you may take another Zen question that is likely to stimulate your curiosity. I plan to provide a new Zen question a week.
The other is that you ask your question of the things around you instead of yourself. Seeing a tree, you can ask the tree your question ‘Hi, tree. What am I when my body is not me?’ or a little different question ‘Hi, tree. What are you when you are not a tree?’ You can ask such a question of anything such as a car, a puppy, a bird, a desk, spoon, a cup and so forth that you can see in your everyday life. My words might sound ridiculous but they, whenever you ask them the question, never fail to tell you the correct answers. The problem is that you can’t grasp their answers because your eyes and ears are veiled by illusions. To try to understand their answers is a good practice, too.

SRH_9410a_thumb

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.

DSC_8492a_thumb
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.