zen meditation – Page 17

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Q206. Isn’t Zen meditation nihilistic?

May 26, 2016May 26, 2016 Zen Fools

A. People might think that Zen meditation leads people to nihilism, or pessimism because it says that everything is empty. However, when Zen says that everything is empty, it doesn’t mean that everything is useless like rubbish and that you should throw it away, but it means that the illusions of everything, which are its names and images, are empty. Zen helps you to realise the truth that we are more than what we think we are, that is, we are perfection itself, eternity itself, beauty itself, happiness itself and holiness itself. Also, Zen meditation leads you to see the essence of everything, not mere illusions of it, which allows you to realise and enjoy the real value of all that you have overlooked so far.

Let me take a metaphor of a child who is playing with two golden toys: One of them is a very ugly devil-shaped monster and the other is a very handsome, brave-looking lion. The child is attracted only by the form of the handsome lion, without realising the value of the gold of which the lion is made. Likewise, he, if not disliking the monster, is apt to like it less than the lion since he is ignorant of the real value of it and the fact that both are the same in essence. All he knows about the toys is that they are a handsome brave looking lion and an ugly, cruel-looking monster. When he regards the names and the images of the toys as their totality, without realising the value of gold, he is said to be trapped in illusions of them.

When I say that everything is empty, I mean that the illusions of everything are empty. When saying that the lion is empty, I mean that the illusions of the toy lion are empty. We, grown-ups, cherish the toys more than the child does because we know the essence of them behind their illusions, such as their names and images, that is, we realise that they are made of gold. Also, we don’t value the monster less than the lion since we know both of them are the same in essence. When I, saying that everything is empty, tell you to remove illusions, I am encouraging you to see the gold, not the images of the toys.

However, I don’t mean that we should not pay any attention to the names and the images which are called illusions. They are very important and indispensable to maintain our reality of life. In fact, to remember as many of them as exactly as possible and apply them well to each situation of our lives, might be essential elements for successful living. I mean that you should realise that the names and the images of a thing are not the unchangeable essence of it, but mere illusions that can change anytime. I encourage you to see the essence of all things, including yourself.

Then, you can realise the truth that an illusion is the truth itself and an illusion is not separate and different from the truth, just as the toy lion is not separate and different from gold. Afterwards, all things in your life look more important and more beautiful than they used to. In the end, your life becomes happier and more meaningful than before.

King: (Showing an apple and a tomato to a master) “Sir, why do they

have different names from each other even though they are the

same size and colour?”

Master: “Your Majesty, it’s like you wear official robes during your office

hours and change into everyday garments after work.”

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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

Q205. How do the enlightened deal with so-called illusions?

May 24, 2016May 24, 2016 Zen Fools

A. I would like to compare their life to a king’s life.

He lives as a king all the time while his men are always replaced.

He doesn’t live where others live,

Nor does he go where others go,

Not because he doesn’t like them or he finds it difficult to live with them,

But because they come to him whenever he needs them and go back when they finish their work.

Sometimes when some of them stay there longer, he is not bothered by them because he knows that they are his men.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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

Q204. Student: “How is a tree when it withers and all its leaves are fallen?”

May 22, 2016May 22, 2016 Zen Fools

A. Master: “It totally reveals its body.”

Commentary:

It stands on the Earth supporting the sky and filling the universe to the full.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddha, Buddhism, Enlightenment, final goal, God, Happiness, Meditation, Mind, One, Practice, Prayer, Religion, root, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q203. If I find myself affixed to a single path to truth: the path of prayer and praise, or the path of kindness and love, or the path of wisdom and meditation, or any other path of a singular mode, am I going in the wrong way?

May 19, 2016 Zen Fools

A. No, you are not wrong at all. Feel free to choose any path that appeals to you and concentrate on seeking the root from which the path comes. Whichever path you may take, you will come to take the same way after all because they are from the same root, the truth that is not dual.

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We should realise the fact that all other things, as well as all paths, are from the same root even though they may look different from each other. The root is the very truth. To realise what the root is should be the final goal of all religions.

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

Buddha, Buddhism, emptiness, empty, Enlightenment, final goal, Happiness, illusion, Koan, master, Meditation, Mind, mindful, mindfulness, Practice, Religion, root, self, student, true self, Truth, Uncategorized, Zen

Q202. Is it okay to go on with my worldly job in order to make money, while seeking to attain enlightenment?

May 17, 2016 Zen Fools

A. Enlightenment is to realise that everything is empty and so there is nothing to gain or lose. That means that there is nothing that you should or shouldn’t do in the world. Zen meditation is to try realise the truth.

The key point is not what you are doing for a living, but whether or not you try to realise the truth in the right way, that is, try to realise what you are when your body is not you. If you try to realise what makes your body do your work while doing it, that is good practice. In terms of that, your job can be a good gate to enlightenment. Work and practice are one to a good Zen man.

Student: “What is the true-self?”

Master: “It is what is asking me the question now.”

©Boo Ahm

All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway

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?

May 11, 2016 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

final goal, Meditation, Practice, Truth, Zen

Q113. What is the middle path?

September 17, 2015 Zen Fools

A. This is one of the most common misconceptions in Zen meditation or Buddhism. Most people interpret it as standing in the middle of both sides. They think, for instance, they should stand just in the middle of the right and the left without inclining toward either of them in order to keep the middle path. However, they are not in the middle path but are deceived by the illusions, the left and the right.

The truth is that the middle path means standing where there is neither side. In brief, you can be said to be in the middle path when all illusions have disappeared because the right side and the left side, as well as the centre and the edge are all illusions. Therefore, once all illusions have disappeared, you don’t have to try to keep the middle path because you can’t leave the middle path even for a moment.

©Boo Ahm

Buddha, Buddhism, Meditation, Truth, Zen

Q98. How far is hell from heaven?

August 14, 2015 Zen Fools

A. It is as far as it is from the right to the left. All the time both are in the same place at the same time. As what is the right to one man can be the left to another, and what is the left today can be the right tomorrow, so what heaven is to one man can be hell to another, and what heaven is to a man today can be hell to him tomorrow. A jail, for example, is hell to the inmates there, but can be heaven to the officials who work there for a living these days when getting a job is so difficult. To a hungry, penniless man who is pursued and threatened by gangsters, prison can be heaven, a safe shelter because it provides him with food and security. In fact, there is neither hell nor heaven, just like there is neither the right nor the left. Whether a place is hell or heaven depends on the eyes of the beholder.

©Boo Ahm

Happiness, mindfulness, Zen

Q54. What do masters mean when they insist that we possess nothing?

June 12, 2015 Zen Fools

A. It means we should escape perfectly from the trap of illusion without having a single illusion left. Ancient masters said that if we have a single illusion, it will fill the whole universe with illusions in no time. The Bible says that the poor are blessed. The poor here are those who have no illusion. People who have escaped from the trap of illusion are aware that everything in the universe is an illusion. Such people can be said to have nothing however much they have because they know all they have is nothing but an illusion.

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Q30. When we help others we get such a great feeling….is this just us patting oneself on the back, or is it because that we are all one and by helping others we truly are helping our self?

June 6, 2015 Zen Fools

A. If you get a great feeling, as most people do, it is likely to be a kind of sense of accomplishment. We have been taught and told to help others in need since our kindergarten days. However, we usually feel that we have not helped others as much as we think we should, and we always feel guilty or burdened unconsciously, for it as though we didn’t do our homework. When we help others, we get a kind of accomplishment we would feel when no one but I in the class did the homework in our school days and, enjoying secret pride, we pat ourselves on the back just like our teachers did to us.

Let me ask you a question. Do you happen to get such a great feeling when you feed yourself? In fact, if you had helped others because you felt oneness with them, you would have felt it natural rather than great. The Bible says, “When you help others, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand does.” However, Zen books say, “When you help others, don’t let even your right hand know what your right hand does.” This is a saying that shows the essence of Zen. You should not have even the idea that you helped someone. You should feel as natural as if you buy yourself lunch, when you serve a nice lunch to a hungry man. That is, to love your neighbours as yourself – just like the Bible says.