“Once upon a time, Nam-jeon asked a lecturer monk, “What sutra do you teach?” And the lecturer replied, “I lecture on the Future Buddha Sutra” Then, Nam-jeon asked, “When will the Future Buddha come?” The lecturer replied, “At present he is in Heaven, but he will come soon.” Then Nam-jeon said, “There is no Future Buddha in heaven, and there is no Future Buddha under the earth.” Student: “Where is the Future Buddha if he is neither in heaven nor under the earth?” Master: “He is in the future.” Commentary: The Buddha is the Future Buddha until you see him. ©Boo Ahm All writing ©Boo Ahm. All im ..read more

Part 10-5 “Subhuti, by way of analogy, if a person’s body is as large as Mount Sumeru, what do you think? Would you say that his body is large?” Subhuti said, “It is very large, World Honoured One, because the Buddha called that which is not a body the large body.” Commentary: Mount Sumeru is the most grandiose mountain in the countless worlds that symbolises the centre of the universe in Buddhism. We should understand why the Buddha said that a person’s body is as large as Mount Sumeru. As mentioned in Part 10-4, when we don’t dwell on anything, or when we see and hear things as they are wit ..read more

A. Every effect has its own cause. There is no effect without cause. Even a cause is also an effect of other causes. Everything is cause and effect at the same time. It follows that our birth is also an effect of causes we made, although we don’t remember what they are, and is simultaneously a cause for another effect. Then, can we say that a person doesn’t choose to be born if his birth is the result of the causes he made previously? If his life doesn’t happen to be a life that he wants, it sounds more reasonable to say that he made a wrong choice, rather than say that he didn’t choose to be ..read more

Baizhang was asked by Yunyan, “Master, you work on details all day.  Who are you doing it for?” Baizhang said, “There may be someone who requires it.” Yunyan said, “Why don’t you let that person take care of it?” Baizhang said, “Because that person may not have the means of making a livelihood.” Student: “Why doesn’t the person have the means of making a livelihood?” Master: “Because all people take care of him.” Student: “What happens if we don’t take care of him?” Master: “He never cares.” Commentary: When a servant doesn’t serve his master well, the consequence will eventually come ba ..read more

Part 10-4 “They (Bodhisattvas) should raise the mind without dwelling on anything.” Commentary: This is one of the scriptures best known as the core of this Sutra. Let me give you an easier and more detailed explanation regarding not dwelling on anything. What would happen if there were no words at all? All that reaches our eyes and ears would appear to be one that is nameless, changeless, boundless and formless. It would be perfection itself. In fact, the word ‘perfection’ may not be suitable to depict it, not only because it is also a word created by our imagination, but also because there w ..read more

A. The core of Buddhism is to realise that we, as perfect beings, are one with the Buddha. Being protected by the Buddha means realising that we are one with all other things as Emptiness, the true-Self, that is, we are always surrounded and protected by the true-Self, the Buddha. There is nothing but the true-Self and nothing to inflict harm upon us. Whether we are protected by the Buddha or not depends on whether or not we realise that we are one with the Buddha. It is not because the Buddha is prejudiced but because the Bodhisattvas have realised they are one with the Buddha whilst sentien ..read more

One day Master Jojoo asked a kitchen-steward monk who was in charge of cooking vegetables, “Do we eat raw vegetables or cooked ones today?” The kitchen-steward monk picked up some of them and showed them to the master. Student: “What did the kitchen-steward monk mean by showing the master some of the vegetables?” Master: “He showed the best food which we can avoid hunger with for the rest of our lives at a bite.” Commentary: We never pass a day without having the best food, but it doesn’t work for us because we don’t digest it. ©Boo Ahm All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway ..read more

Part 10-3 “For this reason, Subhuti, all Bodhisattvas should have a mind that is pure and clear like this, and should not have a mind that dwells on forms; they should not have a mind that dwells on sound, scent, flavour and touch, or Dharma.” Commentary: Bodhisattvas are not separate from the true-Self but are the functions of the true-Self. All of us are essentially Bodhisattvas but we are confused into thinking that we are sentient beings because we have a mind that dwells on forms, that is, because we, being deluded by forms, cannot see things as they are. Therefore, the Buddha said that a ..read more

A. Wisdom in Buddhism signifies the ability to see things as they are without being deluded by illusions, that is, the realisation that everything is empty. He who has the wisdom to see and hear things as they are, is referred to as a man who has transcended birth and death because he sees them just as illusions, or as an idle person with no work to do since he sees whatever he does as empty. So, a life of wisdom means a peaceful and stable life free from the fear and worries that we sentient beings encounter in our lives. ©Boo Ahm All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway ..read more

Part 10-2 “Subhuti, what do you think? Do Bodhisattvas adorn the Buddha-land?” “No, World Honoured One, because adorning the Buddha-land is not adornment, but it is just called adornment.” Commentary: The Buddha-land, another name of the Pure land which means the true-Self, is so perfect that it leaves nothing to be desired. That is, adding something else to it, removing something from it, or changing it to make it look better is not adorning but dirtying it. The truth is that it is impossible to change the Buddha-land. No matter how hard we may struggle to change it, we cannot change it in th ..read more