Dharmatalk

In the eyes of society, I'm just an ordinary middle-aged guy you can find anywhere in the world.

In the Korean Buddhist tradition, this kind of person is called a "Gersa".

A small spark from a boy in India 2500 years ago was passed on to the Dharma Master, and from there, the history of Seon began, passing through six Seon ancestral teachers, to the last ancestral teacher of Seon (Sixth Patriarch Hui-neng), who could not use his own name and was looked down upon, who showed the hints of enlightenment that had been passed down like Buddhist temple secrets, not in writing and speech, but directly through Dharmatalk, so that, like the prophecy of the Dharma Master, it was not limited to any religion, but bore fruit in our ordinary lives.

As I mentioned in the introduction, the word "Gersa" literally means a lay person who studies the Buddha's enlightenment, not a Buddhist monk.

In Seon's history, "gersa" have played an important role in the development of Seon, as they were ordinary people who realized the Buddha's enlightenment by chance and spread the Dharma to everyone in the world, including Buddhist monks.

The secrets that have been passed down in this way are so easy and ordinary that they cannot be put out and bragged about, but they have been distorted by the wrong teachings of unenlightened people, and enlightenment has been tabooed as something that cannot be easily attained.

But fortunately, Seon's tradition of pointing straight to the point and realizing straight away has been carried on.

Dharma Talk is not a place of scholarship where we get the knowledge we need to live.

It is only about showing and pointing to enlightenment, not teaching, not knowing and understanding, but realizing.

There are two main ways that Dharma Talk works.

One is to say "there is", which destroys the idea of "there is not".

The other is to say "no" to the idea of "is", so that it can't stay in either place.

Only if you are always clear on why you are listening to dharma talk will you see the moon (essence) I am pointing to.

If you just follow my words (fingers), you will only see my fingers, and there is no reason for that.

If the desire to realize arises on its own, I recommend listening to Dharma talks for at least six months to a year, basically with a clear mind and no questions.

But in the meantime, if you have a question that you can't bear to leave unanswered, you can ask it over and over again, refining it to be concise and clear, and email me.

As I mentioned at the beginning, Dharma talk uses words as a tool for communication, but no one is talking - it's all about enlightenment, and I can tell you that the words you hear in Dharmatalk are like an alarm clock to wake you up.

Traditional Korean Dharma talks begin with the sound of a bamboo-stick, also ends with that sound.

The sound of the bamboo-stick is no different from my sound, and the sound of the Buddha is no different from all the sounds of the world.

That's why Seon master's superior knowledge and eloquence of speech will help him attract many people who understand it and seek knowledge, but it will not lead to the ultimate goal of enlightenment.

Knowledge that comes from outside cannot be yours, and wisdom (enlightenment) is something that exists within you from the beginning, not something that can be acquired, so the first step is to find your true self and not chase after the knowledge of others.

In the Seon tradition, there is a method of teaching called "Bang and Hal", where "Bang" refers to beating with a stick, and "Hal" refers to shouting (sajahu), which means to use any means necessary to clearly point out the goal (enlightenment) for those who are blinded to the truth by false teachings or ideas and prejudices.

During Seon master's (Nim) Dharma talk, sometimes unexpected expletives or behaviors may occur, such as situations that we can easily encounter only with people close to us in our daily lives, but not in a formal setting, but they are expressed without ambiguity by the straightforward tradition of Zen, so please listen without misunderstanding, and do not take Seon master's words lightly to cloud the essence of Dharma Talk.

True Dharma talk is not only the sounds that come out of my mouth with air, but all the sounds of the world.

When the day comes when you are able to hear all the sounds of the world, even the ones that are not sounds, then you will enjoy true great freedom, not only from me but also from the Buddha's words.