A Conversation with Master Seung Sahn (North Korea, 1927-2204)

" What is Zen?

What are you?

(Silence.)

Do you understand?

I don't know.

This don't-know mind is you. Zen is understanding

yourself.

Is that all Zen is?

Isn't it enough?

I mean, there must be a final understanding or illumination

that a Zen master has in order to be a Zen master.

All understanding is no understanding. What do you understand? Show me!

(Silence.)

Okay, what is one plus two?

Three.

Why didn't you tell me that? What colour is the sky?

Blue.

Very good! The truth is very simple, yah? But your mind is

complicated; you understand too much. So you could

not answer. But you don't understand one thing.

What?

One plus two equals zero.

I don't see how.

Okay. Suppose someone gives me an apple. I eat it. Then

gives me two more apples. I eat them. All the apples

are gone. So one plus two equals zero.

Hmmm.

You must understand this. Before you were born, you

were zero. Now you are one. In the future, you will die

and again become zero. All things in the universe are like

this; they arise from emptiness and return to emptiness.

So zero equals one, one equals zero.

I see that.

In elementary school, they teach that one plus two

equals three. In our Zen elementary school, we teach

that one plus two equals zero. Wich one is correct?

Both.

If you say 'both', then the space ship cannot go to the

moon. When only one plus two equals three, then it can

reach to the moon. But if one plus two also equals zero,

then on the way the space ship will desappear. So I say,

neither is correct.

Then what would be a proper answer?

'Both' is wrong, so I hit you. Also 'neither' is wrong, so I hit

myself. The first teaching in Buddhism is 'form is

emptiness, emptiness is form.' This means that one

equals zero, zero equals one. But who makes form? Who

makes emptiness? Both form and emptiness are

concepts. Concepts are made by your own thinking.

Descartes said (...)"

To be continued...

in: Anne Bancroft, Op.cit.