WEBVTT

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<Attaining Enlightenment
Through Meditation>

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(Questioner) Hi, Sunim. Thank you 
for giving me a chance to ask a question.

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I have a question about meditation
and the study of the Buddhist scriptures.

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I learned that the Buddha attained
a peaceful mind and profound enlightenment

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through meditation.

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I am trying to practice meditation
for the same purpose.

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But, as a beginner
who hasn't gone through the path,

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I have doubts about how I can reach
such a deep state of enlightenment

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simply by not thinking.

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Could you explain how meditation leads
to peace of mind and enlightenment?

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(Sunim) Most of our suffering arises
primarily from our thoughts.

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So, we must free ourselves
from our preconceived notions of

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ethics, morality, religious beliefs, and
other paradigms that shape our thoughts.

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For example, consider a man and a woman
who like each other and become lovers.

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In a typical relationship
between two ordinary individuals,

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they can simply like each other.

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However, if they are Buddhist or Catholic
clergy, they have been taught

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not to engage in romantic
or sexual relationships.

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So, those who have undergone
such training,

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while experiencing joy
in their romantic relationship,

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also struggle with guilt.

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That guilt, the negative feeling they get,
does not stem from the relationship itself

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but rather from their belief
that they should not be engaging in it.

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Much of the suffering and issues
we experience today occurs

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due to the clash between reality,
what we truly experience,

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and our preconceived notions
of how things should be.

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This suffering disappears when we resolve
the contradiction in one of two ways:

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either by letting go of our preconceptions
and accepting reality as it is

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or by adhering to our preconceptions
and giving up what we desire in reality.

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However, we can never truly resolve
this problem

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if we attempt to hold onto
our preconceptions,

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while simultaneously trying to attain
what we desire in reality,

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because that contradiction
will inevitably persist.

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Let's take another example.

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If there are traditional ethics
or morals dictating that

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men and women of certain ages should not
see each other as romantic partners,

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then engaging in such relationships
leads to suffering.

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Similarly, if we're taught that
divorce is unacceptable after marriage,

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yet circumstances call for
separation or divorce,

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this contradiction results in suffering.

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In the natural course of life, people may
come together and go their separate ways.

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Coming together is not
the cause of suffering,

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nor is separation or divorce.

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Rather, it is our preconceived notions of
"what ought to be" that create suffering,

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whether it's meeting for the first time
of a relationship or separating.

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If we can let go of the idea
of "what ought to be,"

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we can eliminate much of the suffering
that arises from internal conflicts.

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For example, when we teach our daughters
that having sex before marriage is a sin,

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if they are later forced
into premarital sex,

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it causes them
significant internal suffering.

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But we do not emphasize this as much
when teaching our sons,

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so if they have premarital sex,
they may not feel the same level of guilt.

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This is entirely due to the preconceptions
we instill in our children.

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If you were to stop thinking right now,
there would be no suffering.

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This is why the foundation of meditation
is to stop thinking.

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What position you take, how you breathe,
none of that truly matters.

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Many of you say you meditate,
but, in reality, you are thinking quietly.

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That is thinking,
not meditating.

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Thinking positive thoughts does not mean
you are meditating properly.

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Meditation is the state
where thoughts have stopped.

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And if you stop thinking,
most of your suffering goes away.

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However, once you try it, you will realize
that your thoughts do not cease.

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(Audience Laughter)

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In fact, they may become amplified
twofold, threefold, or even tenfold.

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So, while your body remains still
during meditation,

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your mind is constantly
engaged in thinking.

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Then, how can we stop thinking?
If you set an intention to stop thinking,

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that intention itself
becomes another thought.

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That is why the old masters
taught us this analogy:

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Imagine there's dust
flying all over the room.

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The dust is barely visible to us.

NOTE Paragraph

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But if there's a ray of sunlight
coming through the room,

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we suddenly become aware of
how much dust is floating in the air.

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We take a cloth or a duster
and start cleaning to remove the dust.

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Yet, instead of eliminating the dust,
we stir it up even more.

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Then, what should we do?
We simply let it settle on its own.

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As time passes,
most of the dust will settle.

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This analogy shows that we live constantly
filled with thoughts and distractions,

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but we are unaware of that

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because we lack that single ray of light
to illuminate them.

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Thus, when you sit down to meditate and
start noticing how cluttered your mind is,

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this is not a failure in meditation.

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It's actually a process
of meditating properly.

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It's just like seeing that single ray
of sunlight revealing the dust in a room.

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It is the first realization that you are
surrounded by endless distracting thoughts.

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Then, you may start approaching meditation
with a performance-oriented mindset,

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striving to meditate better and faster.

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This, in turn, creates more distractions
just as letting dust fly even more.

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You have to just let it be.

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But it's very hard to simply let it be
because thoughts keep arising.

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That's why the strategy is
to focus your thoughts on one thing.

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The easiest thing to focus your thoughts
on is your breath.

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It's a strategy of focusing on the
inhalation and exhalation of your breath.

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In Pali, it is called Ānāpānasati.

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Another strategy that emerged during
the Zen Buddhist tradition is a Koan,

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which is focusing on a single thought,

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a single question
like "Who am I?"

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Just focus
on that single question.

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Other thoughts will constantly arise.

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Just let them be.

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The only thing you should truly focus on
is that single question.

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For example, imagine you are reading
a book in the middle of a forest.

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You hear birds tweeting.

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You hear the sound of a stream.

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And you hear cars passing
on a distant road.

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Because of these distractions,
you find it difficult to focus.

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If the cars stopped running,

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if the birds stopped tweeting,

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and if the stream stopped running,

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then you would be able to focus
in that quiet forest, right?

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But you can't stop those things.

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Even if you could eliminate
those external distractions,

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it wouldn’t necessarily mean
that you could focus.

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But if you truly immerse yourself
in the book,

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the birds may tweet,
but you won’t notice them.

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Cars may pass on the road nearby,
but you won’t pay attention to them,

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nor will you notice the stream beside you

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because you are deeply focused and
fully absorbed in what you are reading.

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While meditation is
about the absence of thoughts,

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from a strategic perspective, it is
about concentrating on a single thought.

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Let's say you focus
on breathing in and out.

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When the breath comes in,
you notice the breath entering.

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You are not thinking
about the breath coming in.

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This is a kind of sensory experience,
the flow of air as it moves

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over your skin, through your nostrils,
and into your lungs.

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And you also feel the tactile sensation
of the breath leaving your nose.

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This is experiencing,
not thinking.

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You are simply experiencing the breath.

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You might think of your mother
at some point.

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Once you become distracted
by the thought of your mother,

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you start thinking, "Oh, what about
the time we went on a picnic together?

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What about the time we had an argument?"

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You unconsciously create
narratives around the thought.

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This becomes a distraction.

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You can't stop the thought of 
your mother from rising.

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But whatever thoughts come to you,
you keep focusing on your breath.

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Basically, do not pay attention
to the thought or give it energy.

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Then, the thought naturally dissipates.

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But soon, other thoughts will arise.

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You might suddenly think about coffee.

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Nevertheless, you stay focused
on your breath.

NOTE Paragraph

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Then, the thought of coffee
also dissipates.

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No matter how many thoughts arise,
if you do not pay attention to them,

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they will simply come and go
again and again.

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But once you engage
with a thought of coffee,

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you start following it
and creating a story:

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"What kind of coffee do I want?
With whom do I want to drink this coffee?"

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At that moment, you have already lost
your focus on the breath

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because you can only focus
on one thing at a time.

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If you focus here,
you lose focus there.

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And if you pay attention there,
you lose attention here.

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Thoughts are just that.

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As long as you don't pay attention
to them, they will simply rise and fall.

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So, when we say we are distracted,
the random thoughts themselves

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are not distractions.

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They become distractions when
we start creating stories around them.

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If you keep practicing, the amount of time
you can sustain focus on your breath

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before getting distracted can increase,

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first to 1 minute, then to 5, then to 10.
It will gradually increase.

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Your attention span for focusing
on your breath will continue to grow,

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and you will experience
fewer distractions.

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Then, you start gaining autonomy.

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You will no longer be bound
by past memories or future expectations.

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The reason you feel anger, frustration,
hatred, or resentment is that

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past memories resurface, bringing back
the wounds you once experienced.

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You become fearful, anxious, and nervous
because you are thinking about the future.

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If you are no longer held captive
by thoughts of the future,

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your anxiety and nervousness
will naturally fade away.

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That is why we teach to awaken
in the here and now

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without being captured by past memories
or the future that has not yet arrived.

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Even if thoughts about the Buddha
arise unbidden during meditation,

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they are still distractions.

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Maintain singular focus on your breath,
and everything else is a distraction.

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If you are meditating on a Zen Koan,

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anything beyond exploring the question,
"Who am I?" is a distraction.

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In that state, even what you read
in scriptures, sutras,

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or even the Buddha's own teachings
become distractions.

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That is why there is a teaching:
"If you see the Buddha, kill the Buddha.

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If you encounter your teacher,
kill the teacher."

NOTE Paragraph

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Of course, this does not mean to literally
kill them. (Sunim Laughter)

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Rather, it means
not to give them any attention.

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They are simply distractions.

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Sorry for the lengthy response.
(Sunim Laughter)

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(Questioner) Thank you.
(Audience Applause)