Shoot the Buddha!


After a talk at the Cambridge Zen Center, a young woman said to Zen Master Seung Sahn, "Tomorrow is my son's birthday, and he told me he wants either a toy gun or money. But I have a problem: as a Zen student, I want to teach him not to hurt or crave things. So I don't want to give him a toy gun or money."

Zen Master Seung Sahn replied, "A toy gun is necessary! [Laughter] If you give him money, he will only go out and buy a toy gun. [Laughter]

"Your son wants a toy gun. This gun means: 'How do you use it correctly?' That's very important--more important than just having a gun or not. If you use this gun correctly, you can help many people, but if it is not used correctly, then maybe you will kill yourself, kill your country, kill other people. So the gun itself is originally not good, not bad. More importantly, what is the correct function of this gun? So you can buy this gun, and give it to your son. Then you talk to him and tell him, 'You must use this gun correctly. If Buddha appears, kill him! If the eminent teachers appear, kill! If a Zen Master appears, you must kill! If anything appears, you must kill it, OK? [Laughter] Then you will become Buddha!' [Much laughter] So you must teach your son in this way. The gun itself is not good or bad. These are only names. Most importantly, why do you do something?"