There Is No Dictator Like Humans

Translated by In-Sok Kim from a dharma talk by Zen Master Seung Sahn for the Buddhist Broadcasting Station in Pusan, Korea, circa 1991.

This translation has been edited for length and clarity.

Should we say it exists,
   or should we say it doesn't?
Should we call it good,
   or should we call it bad?
Should we say it's dead,
   or should we say it's alive?

Today, I am here at this broadcasting station to share the dharma with all of you. The entire world is relative. Should we say it exists, or should we say it doesn't? Should we call it good, or should we call it bad? Should we say it's dead, or should we say it's alive?

Even if the thought doesn't arise, it's still a mistake. That's why we say that even if a thought arises, you'll get hit thirty times with a stick; and even if a thought doesn't arise, you'll still get hit thirty times with the stick of the dharma. How can you avoid getting hit by this stick thirty times?

KATZ!

Today, on August 11, I am here at the Buddhist Broadcasting Station, delivering a dharma talk to all of you. My dharma talk can be concluded with this.

***

Now, I am going to talk about drawing a snake, attaching legs to it, and even putting socks on it. That's something unpleasant to see. Therefore, when we talk about true Buddhist dharma, we can say, “When you open your mouth, it goes wrong.”

Once, when Buddha was giving a dharma talk, he held up a flower. The Chinese Zen master Lin Chi shouted KATZ! Zen Master Dok Sahn only hit. And Zen Master Gu Ji only raised his finger.

That means our minds and words are all cut off. When we open our mouths, we already go wrong. That's why opening our mouths and speaking is like drawing a snake, attaching legs to it, and putting socks on it. However, we cannot understand it. That's why Buddha gave dharma talks for forty-nine years, 84,000 times, and the past Zen masters also gave many great dharma talks. Although they can all be compared to attaching legs to a snake, Buddha and the past Zen masters taught us the way through their talks.

So, today, we will try to understand what the Buddha and the past Zen masters have said, to realize our original nature through their teachings, and to save all sentient beings.

A Zen master once wrote a poem:

Good and bad have no original nature.
Rain is falling steadily. Is it good or bad?
Clouds are floating in the empty sky,
and the sun is shining brightly on the earth.
Is it bad or good? The rain has made the trees
lush and green. Is it right or wrong?

Nature has no concept of right or wrong, good or bad. Humans create those concepts on their own. That's why Buddha said, “Don't create thoughts.” If you cut off thoughts, everything you see, hear, and do becomes Buddha. Heaven is blue, clouds float, and birds cry—all of it is Buddha, not just you and me. But since we humans think in terms of good and bad, the world becomes relative, and conflicts arise. That's why Buddha said, “Don't create thoughts,” and past Zen masters said, “Put down your attachments.”

I've been teaching Buddhism in the United States for the past nineteen years. When I first arrived, I asked Professor Kim Jong-seon, a history professor at Brown University, to interpret for me. I said, “Buddha nature encompasses everything, including seeing, hearing, and doing, in a state free from thinking. However, when thoughts arise, it cannot coexist with the state of nonattachment. The sky is blue, and water flows. There is nothing that is not true, and there is nothing in this world that is not virtuous.”

I spoke about this in Korean for about a minute, and when he translated it into English, he spoke for over ten minutes! Even then, the Americans were shaking their heads as if they didn't understand me. And the interpreter kept talking about different things. The public came to hear about Zen, but the interpreter kept adding explanations.

True Zen doesn't need explanations. Humans add explanations because they don't understand the essence. That's why in school, what you learn is not yours; it's someone else's.

What is my word? Everything in my mind is someone else's word. Professors at universities also have others’ ideas in their minds, and what they say comes from what they've learned. So, when expressing Buddhism, knowing how to speak one’s own words, how to listen correctly, how to see correctly, how to smell correctly, how to speak correctly, how to act correctly, and how to use the mind correctly are all Buddhism—there's nothing special about it.

To act correctly, you need to know yourself. “What am I?” When you came here today, you brought a body weighing over a hundred pounds. What force brings you here? Where did that force come from? Show it to me. Is it your mind? How does your mind look? Is it in your head? Is it in your chest? Sometimes it seems to be in your head, but when something surprising happens, it seems to settle in your chest. How does the shape of the mind look? When you realize your mind, it becomes Zen; it becomes meditation. When your mind is realized, it is not the mind anymore. That's why Buddha said, “I haven't spoken a single word of dharma in forty years.” He returned to his original place, declaring that there had not been a single dharma talk he had given in the past forty years.

So, a Zen master said, “When you open your mouth, it goes wrong.” The concepts of good and bad are originally nonexistent in nature; humans have created them. Ask a dog. Some dogs enjoy eating feces more than they like Western cuisine. Labeling something as good or bad is a human construct; if you ask some dogs, feces is a delicious meal. Terms like good, bad, right, and wrong are subjective and not inherently correct.

In the past, it was forbidden for boys and girls over seven years old to sit together in Korea. However, now boys and girls sit together in schools. What was considered bad in the past may become good today. Therefore, the concepts of good and bad do not have an inherent nature.

Buddha, Confucius, and Jesus were all realized beings, but to distinguish between great people and ordinary people, or to say that someone is a saint or an ordinary person, is useless.

***

When I went to the Soviet Union to participate in a big conference, [This was the Global Forum on Environment and Development for Survival of Humanity, held in Moscow in 1990. —Ed.] Gorbachev was the leader of the Soviet Union. The theme of the conference was “Threat to Survival.” Leaders from around the world, scholars, scientists, artists, politicians, and religious figures—a total of around 300 people—were invited to discuss not only human survival but also the survival of the earth, all animals, and threats to the environment.

At the event, a common statement made by many attendees was “There is no dictator like humans.” The Buddha, 2,500 years ago, advised against killing, but humans indiscriminately kill animals. We consume their meat, use their skin for hats, wear clothes and shoes made of leather. Do other animals behave this way toward one another? This highlights how cruel humans can be, labeled as the most dictatorial species on Earth. When animals are full, they stop hunting. But humans, even when satiated, engage in activities like fishing and hunting as a hobby. How wicked is it to kill animals and catch fish for fun?

***

Two thousand years ago, the Earth's population was around 300 million. By the 1750s, it reached one billion. In 1945, it was two billion. From 1945 to the present, in just fifty years, the population has reached five billion. This is population explosion. Statistically, in the next ten years, the population is projected to grow to eight billion. Then, there will be no land left for humans to inhabit. There will be no land to build homes.

In places like Africa and South America, there used to be vast jungles, but they are shrinking as trees are cut down to build houses. Every day, around 300 species of plants and animals become extinct. Humans, who harm nature in this way every day, are the ones holding a conference in the Soviet Union to save the deteriorating Earth. I attended it with the aim of discussing how to save the Earth from destruction caused by humans.

Gorbachev gave a speech, asking, How bad are we humans? We eat all animals, devastate all mountains, lose water as a result, destroy the ozone layer, change the climate, and then we have diseases like cancer and AIDS. Moreover, the population is exploding, and soon there won't be any land for humans to live on. Whose responsibility is this? Gorbachev concluded, “It is our responsibility.”

Even though he is not a religious figure, he looked at the current state of the earth from a religious perspective. The person who democratized a decades-old communist country was Gorbachev.

I gave a speech emphasizing the Buddha's teachings from ancient times against killing. I spoke about the importance in the Buddha's teachings of refraining from killing.

 ***

Sometimes, when people insult someone, they might say, “Hey, you snake.” However, occasionally, when observing certain individuals, they actually behave as cunningly as a snake! And some individuals only care about their own interests—much like cats. Despite living in a human body, their consciousness is no different from that of a cat.

Once, a woman raising a snake approached me, saying, “Soen Sa Nim, I can't engage in the intensive practices without this snake.” I suggested to her, “Why don't you and the snake both attain enlightenment together?” I offered her a separate room.

The next day, this woman received a phone call and was told her mother was critically ill. She abruptly ended the call, stating that she couldn't come because she was currently engaged in the practice.

She seemed to value a snake more than her own mother. In this world, people may appear human on the surface, but if you look inside, you'll realize many are worse than animals. Although the Buddha advised against killing 2,500 years ago, humans continue to kill, not heeding his words. Consequently, the consciousness of animals becomes our own. If you kill a dog, you become the dog; this illustrates the clear law of cause and effect.

The next day, the woman's snake started to feel unwell. So, with tears streaming down her face, the woman took the snake to the hospital. When her mother was sick, she didn't go to the hospital, but when the snake was sick, she took it to the hospital herself.

***

These days, people mistreat their parents. They may love their children, but, if things don't go well, they kick them out of the house. If a husband and wife don’t get along, they easily divorce. It all comes from what we humans receive. By killing and eating animals, those animal consciousnesses [1] become human. How many cows and chickens does a person eat in a lifetime? The consciousness of the meat they have consumed becomes human, and people become those animals. That's the law of cause and effect. That's why human nature is lost.

In the Soviet Union, I spoke about how humans fall to viciousness and how we needed a movement to restore humanity. Without a movement for the restoration of humanity, there can be no peace.

***

When the mind is emptied, everything seen, heard, and done becomes truth. When one clears the mind, the sky is blue, water flows, dogs bark, sugar is sweet, and salt is salty—there is nothing untrue. Everything seen, heard, and done is all truth.

Once, a monk asked, “What is the Buddha?” and Zen Master Joju replied, “The pine tree in the courtyard.” Yes, the pine tree in the courtyard is the Buddha.

Once, a monk asked, “What is the Buddha?” and Zen Master Man Gong answered, “Go to the courtyard, open the outer gate, and tell me what you see.” The monk opened the gate and said, “I see white snow outside.” Zen Master Man Gong responded, “You have seen Buddha.” In this way, what I see and hear, just as it is, is all the Buddha.

When thinking is cut off, there is no inside or outside; everything becomes one. When I see white snow, the snow and I become one. When I see a pine tree, the pine tree and I become one. When I hear bird sounds, the bird and I become one. When I see a persimmon tree, the persimmon tree and I become one.

So, when Joju was asked what the Buddha is, and he answered, “The pine tree in the courtyard,” it means that, ultimately, what I see is the Buddha. It's not two; it's not the pine tree in the courtyard and me. When we enter this state where there is no duality; we truly see the Buddha. If we discriminate between good and bad while seeing, then we cannot see the Buddha. That's why engaging in the study of clearing the mind leads to the realization of one's own mind.

In spring, grass grows by itself. How true is that? It's a fact that grass grows by itself in spring. In autumn, the wind blows. In winter, snow falls. The truth is in what is seen, heard, and felt. The truth is not elsewhere. Knowing this truth, understanding it correctly, awakening to it, and being able to use it is the right way of life.

Emptying the mind is the first thing we have to do. When the mind is emptied, we realize the world of truth, make it our own, and learn to accept it correctly.

We should manifest the spirit of a bodhisattva, serving others by giving food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, snacks to a crying child, and in general by offering comfort and encouragement to those who suffer. This is known as the world of compassion. It can be seen as the teachings of Buddha.

***

There was a person in China with the surname Jang. He had a daughter named Jangseol. When she turned thirteen, she wished to receive teachings from a Zen master. Zen Master Ma Jo told her, “You look intelligent; if you continue to earnestly invoke Kwan Seum Bosal, there will be nothing you cannot accomplish.” From that day on, Jangseol spent her entire day chanting the name of Kwan Seum Bosal.

One early morning, three years later, she went to a rural valley to do laundry. The sound of the morning bell from Zen Master Ma Jo’s temple echoed faintly. While doing laundry, she suddenly realized that the sounds of laundry and the bell had become one. She said, “Ah, this is how Kwan Seum Bosal and laundry become one.” She stopped doing laundry, returned home, and sat in her room. When her father returned home, he saw his daughter’s scattered laundry outside the room and found her seated using the Lotus Sutra as a cushion. He got angry and shouted, “Are you crazy? Can't you take the Buddhist scriptures from under your buttocks right away?”

She responded, “You said this is Buddhist scripture. What is the Buddha?” Her father replied, “Isn't the Buddha in the hall at the temple?” She countered, asking if that wasn't something made by people.

The father thought his daughter had gone crazy. In a hurry, he ran to Zen Master Ma Jo, saying, “Great Master, something terrible happened. My daughter has gone mad. She has been earnestly chanting Kwan Seum Bosal for three years, but this morning she went mad. She didn't eat breakfast, scattered laundry, and sat with the precious Lotus Sutra as a cushion.”

Zen Master Ma Jo replied, “Your daughter is truly excellent. It seems like you are the crazy one.” Hearing this, her father said, “It's fine if I'm crazy, but please, Master, fix our daughter.” Zen Master Ma Jo instructed him to bring paper and a brush, and after writing a message, he asked him to affix it to the wall in his daughter's room.

When the father returned home, the daughter looked at the writing, which said,

 In the late night, hearing the sound of a rooster crowing in the tree,
I clearly recognize my hometown.
Willows are green, and flowers are red.

Seeing this, she said, “Huh, even Master Ma Jo has no other way.” Then she put the Lotus Sutra back in its place.

After having breakfast, she went to see Zen Master Ma Jo and said, “Master, I read your words well.” So the Master said, “I have one question for you. All the Three Jewels came to save sentient beings. Do you understand how they save sentient beings?”

She asked the master to repeat the question, saying, “Master, please say it again.” When the Master asked the same question again, she replied, “Thank you for your words.” The Master laughed, saying, “You tricked me.”

Another monk nearby asked Master Ma Jo, “Is this girl Jangseol?” Ma Jo answered affirmatively, praising her excellent practice of Zen study.

Then that monk asked her another question. “In the past, there was a large breakthrough in Mount Sumi, and inside that breakthrough, there was a tiny jewel at the center. If you break that jewel, there is an immeasurable dharma. What is that?” In response to that question, she lifted the tea cup and threw it against the pillar, shattering the cup into pieces. The monk who asked the question applauded and praised her highly.

In this way, if you sincerely chant Avalokitesvara (Kwan Seum Bosal), you can break through like Jangseol did and attain enlightenment. When chanting Avalokitesvara, do not make any demands. Instead, harbor a sense of doubt about who it is that is chanting. By sincerely chanting Avalokitesvara with this sense of doubt, you can attain enlightenment, just like in the story of Jangseol. You can realize that you are, indeed, Avalokitesvara. Therefore, in Buddhism, if you continue to lead your thoughts with undivided attention to one place, there is nothing you cannot achieve. It means that when you focus your mind, you can understand everything well. There are many things people want to do, see, and eat. Simplifying our desires and living a simple life are crucial.

***

Currently, there are around five billion people living on Earth. However, when we go to the mountains, there are not many trees. The Earth's temperature has risen by nearly two degrees. The ice in Antarctica and the Arctic is melting, causing sea levels to rise by two centimeters. What will happen then? There are stories that parts of California in the United States and some parts of Japan will be submerged. There is talk that the ozone layer, which protects the Earth from the sun's ultraviolet rays, has a hole. Due to the sun's heat, the temperatures and climates are changing, and the seasons of spring, summer, fall, and winter are also changing. Many diseases have increased as well. AIDS is a significant problem, and there is no cure.

Buddha advised us to have compassion. This teaching doesn't mean just not to kill people. It includes not killing even a single blade of grass. This is what is called “great compassion.” Therefore, if we practice great compassion according to Buddha's teachings, we can survive any problems on Earth, and receive the protection of the Buddha and many bodhisattvas. However, if we do not follow Buddha's teachings, when various changes occur on Earth, we humans might collapse like a pile of sand. So, people who listen to this broadcast, and those who participate in this broadcast, should not deviate from Buddha's teachings.

Nowadays, many Westerners claim that true happiness is found within oneself rather than seeking all happiness outside. You should practice meditation when you chant, reflecting on who is chanting and who is working. Reflecting on yourself in this way is true Zen meditation. When you calmly observe yourself, your mind becomes pure. When your mind becomes pure, you can enter the state where you and Buddha are not two. By relying on the teachings of the Buddha, diligently keeping the precepts, and practicing meditation to realize my own mind, I hope that you, too, may become a bodhisattva capable of saving all sentient beings. Thank you.