Awakening to Zen or knowing what Zen is, based on the Diamond Sutra and Heart Sutra Zen is easily

misunderstood when you worldly see or worldly read or worldly think! The Christians face a similar problem when it comes to reading the Bible. For, the parables of Jesus cannot be understood through worldly wisdom but require spiritual wisdom. Zen also requires spiritual wisdom instead of worldly wisdom. Therefore in either case you require faith and practice and spiritual wisdom. Without spiritual wisdom in the interpretation of the scriptures, a miss is as good as a million miles from the target. You do not need to go further than the evils and atrocities committed through the ages by 'white' European Christian conquistadors, inquisitors and colonists in the name of God and the divine right of Christianity! The United States still maintain their 'world sheriff' and 'world hegemony' 'white supremacy' approach trusting in God for affirmation. The modern day Moslem Jihadists are on the same disastrous deviant path, all in the name of Allah! The Christians and Moslems and others all kill in the name of God! Ridiculous but it is true. And thus is because religion is not practised with spiritual wisdom. With spiritual wisdom it is readily apparent that one cannot be a true Christian or Moslem, if one is self-righteous or has an ego of a worldly self. When you have to have no idol before God or have to submit totally to Allah; it is not about the 'worldly' being kneeling before God (for God is not flesh) but about a 'no-worldly' being kneeling before God. How do you become a 'no-worldly' being? You have to be baptised or be reborn in the 'spirit'. You must realise in you the being that is not 'born of the flesh' in you. You must discover the 'spirit' you, that you were and are before your parents consummated the 'worldly' you. You have to discover the eternal spirit 'you' that is 'lost' or entrapped in your temporal or mortal 'worldly you', that is like eternal Adam before the Original Sin or the eternal Second Adam (Jesus) of 'virgin birth'. It is the same in Zen. If you are practising Zen having the sense of a 'self' practising Zen or a 'self' feeling good and self-righteous about practising Zen, you are on the deviant path too. If you read or study the Buddhist scriptures literally with a worldly mind and with worldly wisdom, you will miss the spiritual objective of Zen by a million miles. You will end up doing more harm than good to yourself. Jesus was practising Zen (metaphorically speaking of course) when he said that in charity or giving (which really means love and compassion in spiritual terms) you must not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. That is an illustration of not having a sense of 'self' or self-righteouness or ego. It is in this metaphysical sense of 'no-self' that Zen takes as its starting point. Not that there is no worldly self, for to assume or say that would imply that mentally one is stupid and ignorant and factually blind, but rather that your 'worldly ego of a self' is not the 'self' that is the one that is doing the Zen. It is like saying, in a Christian sense, that it is not the 'goat', the son of man in the flesh, born out of the sin of the flesh, for there is no marriage in Heaven, but the 'sheep', the spirit son of God that is lost (in the son of man) and found and saved, that is going to heaven. Accordingly in Zen, there is also 'no-mind'. Not that there is no worldly mind, otherwise you would be brain-dead! It is rather that your worldly mind would only sprout worldly wisdom, which can only pertain or relate to physiological and other matters of this transient temporal world. You need to open your 'cosmic' mind, that is not your worldly mind, that can sprout spiritual wisdom. Otherwise, in a Christian sense, there would be no need for Jesus to have spoken in parables! Parables cannot be literally or worldly interpreted! Parables can only be interpreted by a spiritual mind with spiritual wisdom. In Zen you have to be awakened to your original intrinsic or 'Bodhi' nature. In Christian terms you have to be reborn in the 'spirit'! Either way, in Zen you have to have your sudden awakening to your Bodhi-nature before you can gradually practise or cultivate Zen; and in a Christian sense you have to be 'baptised in the spirit' or reborn in the 'spirit', before you can truly practise the teachings of Jesus' parables. For, as Jesus said, flesh is flesh and spirit is spirit! So, in Zen, 'no-self' does not mean no 'self'. It only means that your worldly 'human' being, the

one you see reflected in the mirror, is not your real 'self'. Your 'real' 'self' is the one watching the 'dying' man in the mirror! Your worldly human being is born only destined to die and that is why it is a 'no-self'; but your real permanent 'self', your intrinsic Bodhi-nature, that you cannot see in the mirror, is the one, is the eternal 'self' that is watching your reflection of the worldly human being 'no-self' in the mirror! And similarly 'no-mind' does not mean no 'mind'! It only means that your worldly mind, the one that is subservient and attracted to and tempted and seduced by your five senses, that makes you emotional and sensual, and a prey to your lust and desires for pleasures of flesh, wealth, power and status, that subsumes and entraps you in endless rebirths in the world of samsara, subjugated by the Immutable Law of Karmic Cause and Effect, is the 'mind' of the 'no-self'! So, when we say in Zen meditation that your 'mind' must have no thoughts or must not abide in anything or anywhere, it does not mean that you should have a blank thoughtless worldly 'mind' and end up with a blank stare like a lunatic! It simply means that you should open up the 'mind' of your intrinsic nature, your Bodhi-mind, your spiritual mind, to control or keep watch on the antics and vagaries if your worldly 'monkey' of a mind. This watchful 'spiritual eye' is metaphorically termed your 'third eye'! When in Zen we speak of directly pointing to the 'mind', we mean the Bodhi-mind and not the worldly mind. That is why there is no 'enlightenment' of the worldly mind or the 'no-self' but rather the awakening of the Bodhi-mind and the realisation of the Bodhi-self. That is why there is no (worldly) mind to (worldly) mind transmission as such, even though we speak figuratively in that sense. Otherwise Buddhism would be a telepathic rather than a spiritual practice. But transcendental awareness as distinct from telepathic communication is natural between akin spiritual minds. There is no spiritual mind to spiritual mind transmission as such either; just transcendental spiritual awareness; for the Bodhi-mind is one and several; for there is no consciousness of individual self or ego. It is in this sense that we say in Zen that you do not cling to or abide in words, concepts or scriptures or even to the Buddha, whether as an image in your worldly mind when meditating or as a wooden statue when praying or chanting. Seriously, what does Buddha look like? What does God look like for that matter? What does our spirit look like? If there is no selfconsciousness or ego what is there to look or to look like? Such a thought is a spiritual impossibility! Therefore, if and when you should see the Buddha in your mind that is not spiritual seeing at all, for the Bodhi-mind should not abide in anything at all. You should not be attached to or be infatuated or mesmerised by anything! In eternal bliss, there is no need or want! That is what Psalm 23 is all about. There should be no movement in the acute awareness of the luminous Bodhi-mind at all! In any case why would the Bodhi-mind see Buddha when the Buddha is comprised in the Bodhi-mind? Self-consciousness is only a small step away from selfrighteousness and having an ego of 'self'. It would be like the proverbial queen staring at the mirror and asking - who is the fairest of them all? In Christian terms it is like Adam and Eve after the Fall, after the Original Sin of tasting the Tree of Knowledge, acquiring an ego and thereby self-consciousness, in self-perceived 'shame' covering their genitals with vine leaves when God asked - Adam, Adam, where are you? This is the critical problem! Until you are awakened to or realise your Bodhi-mind or your intrinsic Bodhi-nature how can you do direct pointing to the (Bodhi) 'mind', i.e. without any need for words or doctrines or concepts or scriptures? How would you be spiritually capable like Mahakasyapa to understand without the benefit of words or a sermon the significance of the Buddha twirling a flower in his hand? For with an egoistic worldly mind you will automatically discriminate and see duality and relativity in all things. You will be judgemental. In a world of birth and death, good and bad, rich and poor, male and female, beautiful and ugly, how can your worldly mind not make distinctions and discriminate? Only the Bodhi-mind can transcend beyond words and worldly things. Of all the disciples in the congregation in Vulture Peak that day, only Mahakasyapa was awakened to his Bodhi-mind.

So, in practising Zen, you have to understand the fusion of the worldly or sentient being in you with the Bodhi-self in you. In Christian terms we would say, the fusion of the 'goat' (son of man) and the 'sheep' (spirit son of God) in you. The Judgement Day of Christian salvation is about separating the 'goats' from the 'sheep'. We are 'angels' (sheep) entrapped as 'goats' going up and down the proverbial Jacob's Ladder, from one existence in Sin City to another. We are the proverbial Lost Prodigal Son! In any worldly existence, you are born with different worldly and spiritual capabilities and capacities, as a consequence of the Immutable Law of You Reap What You Sow. Depending on the configuration and permutation, you could be more 'goat' or more 'sheep', as you go up and down Jacob's Ladder. In Zen terms, whether you are going to be awakened to your intrinsic Bodhi-self in this lifetime, and therefore have the right spiritual capacity and capability to directly point to the Bodhi-mind, will similarly depend on the karmic cause and effect consequences of your previous lives and existences. It is therefore not quite true that you can practise Zen without words or the benefit of the scriptures. You would still need to study and know your Buddhist scriptures, whether in this life or in previous lives. When Bodhidharma the 1st Patriarch resorted to facing a blank wall when he practised Zen, he was already spiritually awakened and a master of all the Buddhist scriptures. When Huike (Sheng Kuang) the 2nd Patriarch spiritually awakened he was already 40 years old and a top scholar in Buddhism,Taoism and Confucianism! Similarly, Seng-Tsan the 3rd Patriarch was past forty (and a leper!) when he became spiritually awakened, and must have been equally very scholarly in the scriptures, judged by his famous writing - 'Inscribed on the Believing Mind'. Daoxin the 4th Patriarch started studying Buddhist scriptures at age 7. He was spiritually awakened at age 14! Hongren the 5th Patriarch became a monk as a child under Daoxin and similarly was spiritually enlightened at a young age. Huineng the 6th Patriarch was an illiterate woodcutter. As a young man he was suddenly awakened when he heard the recitation of the Diamond Sutra by a customer that he was delivering firewood to. Obviously the 6th Patriarch must have studied the scriptures in (an) earlier life or lives! It would therefore be outright silly and foolish for any Zen practitioner to think that he or she can practise Zen without the need to study the Buddhist scriptures. Do not therefore take it literally that Zen is a school of practice of Buddhism without the need to resort to words, doctrines or scriptures. Let me explain. Zen is like sitting for your driving licence. You have to study the manual to understand and pass the theory exam. Being awakened to your Bodhi-self is like passing your theory exam. In short, you have awakened to your being a driver! Then you have to practise driving a car as a learner driver and subsequently you have to pass your driving practical. This second stage is what in Zen we call gradual cultivation. Zen 'enlightenment' is when you actually pass your practical driving test. From another perspective Zen spiritual wisdom and transcendental awareness is like two intimate friends or a long married couple in a car on a long trip driving through the desert highway. Nothing much is said and conversation is at a minimum, but yet there is complete rapport and harmonious communication and unspoken understanding. In contrast worldly wisdom is like a couple who are just friends and therefore lacking the unspoken unbridled trust and intimacy and therefore conversation is continually initiated and animated to break the uneasiness and tension of the silence. From another perspective the inconceivability of the Bodhi is like the virgin bride reading up on a manual about making love and sex before the wedding. After the wedding has been consummated she will then realise that the actual personal experience is inconceivable, indescribable and was not quite what was elaborated in the manual, that it was simply beyond words and doctrines. The awakening to the Bodhi-self is therefore a personal spiritual experience. It is like in a world where everyone else is blind and you are the only one who can see; they cannot truly experience

the wonder of sight, no matter how well you describe your experience of seeing. It is like describing the experience of falling in love to someone who has yet to fall in love or who lacks the capacity to fall in love. Awakening to the Bodhi-self has no worldly impact on the worldly life and being of the one awakened nor on the world. He is still subject to his karmic worldly destiny. The mountains remain mountains and the trees remain trees. To improve his spiritual destiny, to get out of the entrapment in samsara he still has to gradually cultivate his liberation. He is however now more focused and enthused about what he 'sows', because he fully understands the Law of Cause and Effect. Referring back to the example of the driving licence, he still has to pass the practical driving test. As a learner driver he has to apply the rules he learned from the driving manual and road rules. In short the awakener has to read and spiritually contemplate on the scriptures. Accordingly and of course in a provisional sense, words and doctrines and sermons are important. Like any manual they provide expedient means to get you to the starting point. When we say in Zen that the Buddha did not say a single word in his 45 years of preaching, we mean it figuratively in the sense that he never said a word about what is inconceivable and beyond description, what had to be personally experienced to be known, what cannot be taught or passed down or transmitted. The Sutras and Shastras of course abound with the Buddha's teachings. But these are all provisional or expedient means. They are signposts and guideways and 'pointing to the moon' (representing illuminating the mind or enlightenment), that lead and take you to the 'other shore' and further represented by the life raft to get you across to the 'other shore'. But when you get to the 'other shore' you have to discard the life raft! For it is of no further use. Once you have passed your driving test why would you still be lugging your driving manual around? Things of this world are like that. They are of no use in the other world! You cannot seriously practise Zen unless you spiritually realise that you cannot take your dead body or your money and property and worldly exploits and status with you to the 'other shore'. Understanding Zen is thus understanding that all of Budhha's teachings are expedient means to get you across to the 'other shore'. Do not linger or dilly dally with the expedients for like the raft they have to be discarded when they have served their purpose. These are all summed up in the Heart Sutra. HEART SUTRA When Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara was coursing in the deep Prajna Paramita, He perceived that all Five Skandhas [form, feeling, cognition, mental formation [volition] and consciousness] are empty. Thus, he overcame all ills and suffering. O Sariputra, form does not differ from emptiness, and emptiness does not differ from form. Form is emptiness and the emptiness is form; the same is true for feeling, cognition, mental formation [volition] and consciousness. [Everything that is based on conceptions based on perceptions based on sensations of the self-egoistic mind is empty. Obviously, if what is based or subject to worldly self as the foundation, and the foundation of worldly self is found to be empty, then what relies on worldly self is also empty.] Sariputra, the characteristics of the emptiness of all dharmas are non-arising, non-ceasing, nondefiled, non-pure, non-increasing, non-decreasing. [This goes back to Emptiness as the constant backdrop. Everything in this world is 'empty' of a permanent eternal self or existence. Nothing is permanent. Even electrons and the stars die! You will note that this Emptiness is a constant, despite its many facets, from different angles, that it is just in the backdrop, mysterious and yet present. You cannot say that it arises or that it ceases. You cannot say that it does not impact on or is it affected by the coming and going and the changing kaleidoscopic mandalas or

phantasmagoria. You cannot say that it (as a constant backdrop) is increasing or decreasing.] Therefore, in the emptiness there is no form, feeling, cognition, mental formation [volition] or consciousness; [If there is no permanent self, there is no permanent form, feeling, cognition, mental formation [volition] or consciousness. There is just that fleeting experience which is nonetheless real like a dream is real; but is not permanent like a dream is not permanent.] No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body or mind; no form, sound, smell, taste, touch, mind-object, or eye field until we come to no field of mind consciousness; [This refers to the 18 Senses Realm - that it is also imaginary and empty.] No ignorance or also no ending of ignorance, until we come to no old age and death and no ending of old age and death. [This refers to the 12 Causal Links - that it is also imaginary and empty. This is just an expedient means of teaching.] Also, there is no truth of suffering, of the cause of suffering, of the cessation of suffering, or of the [Eight-fold Noble] Path. [This refers to the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-fold Noble Path - that they are also imaginary and empty. They are just expedient means if teaching.] There is no wisdom, and there is no attainment [of wisdom] whatsoever. [This refers to the 6 Paramitas which can be summed up under the main paramita of Wisdom; we seek wisdom or enlightenment, but really they cannot be acquired or attained! The false worldly self ego is 'empty' being a 'no-self', born only to die, so any wisdom or enlightenment it acquires is also temporal transient and 'empty'.] Because there is nothing to be attained, the Bodhisattva, relying on the Prajna Paramita has no obstruction in his mind. [Once you have no self consciousness, where then is the seeking or desire or craving or fear of or by a self. In fact, there is no perceived permanent eternal self that is born or dies! It is just a fleeting transient experiential or sentient, composite, one in all and many in one, kaleidoscopic mandala being! It is just like a movie reel of experience! It is just like we are mistaking the dream for the dreamer! The dreamer when he wakes up from his dream basically had not moved at all! The dreamer was just reposed!] Because there is no obstruction, he has no fear; [Who is it or is there to do the fearing?The worldly human being is just a 'no-self'.] And, thus, he passes far beyond confused imagination [He (the worldly human being who realises that he is a 'no-self') is now serene and calm.] And reaches Ultimate Nivarna. [This means he is released from suffering.] The Buddhas of the past, present and future, also relying on the Prajna Paramita, have attained Supreme Enlightenment. [Enlightenment is realising that Ultimate Reality is Emptiness.] Therefore, the Prajna Paramita is the great magic spell, the spell of illumination, the supreme spell, the incomparable spell, which can truly protect one from all suffering without fail. Hence he uttered the spell of the Prajna Paramita, saying: Gat Gat Paragat Parasamgat, Bodhi Svaha! [Gone! Gone! Gone Beyond! Gone Beyond the Beyond! Enlightenment Hail!] It is out of scope here to talk about the Mahayana Bodhisattva value in Zen. I shall be brief, as it is a requisite to understanding that Zen is about helping others. There is a misunderstanding that a Bodhisattva is equivalent to a Christian Saint and is some sort of lesser Buddha. It is nothing like that at all. Think of the Buddha as a physician that heals the disease of ignorance and

suffering. When you are awakened to the Bodhi-self and has crossed over to the 'other shore', all these milestones are mental or spiritual states. In Zen we say that if you have crossed over to the 'other shore' you have a duty to come back to 'this shore' to help others cross over as well. A Bodhisattva has no ego of an ideal physically perfect adonistic narcissistic worldly being. 'It' may be a blind man, a beggar, an ugly man, a sick man, a crook, a demon, a snake, a cruel employer; whatever is 'expedient', to make you come to your spiritual senses or by way of testing your mettle or anger or patience or love or compassion, or whatever spiritual quality you are lacking to help you awaken to the Bodhi-mind and Bodhi-self. Think of the Bodhisattva as coming in all shapes and forms and sizes, like a 'physician' who is not (spiritually speaking) personally or emotionally attached to this world (he maintains detached equanimity) so that he can be proactive in the world as a healer like the Buddha, to cure the sickness that is the web of deceit of samsara (or in Christian terms, Satan's Tree of Knowledge and Jacob's Ladder). cheok hong chuan