INTRODUCTION
πΏ In this simple yet profound teaching, Master Woo Myung explains the meaning behind the Zen phrase, βA mountain is a mountain, water is water.β On the surface, it may seem ordinary β yet it points to the deepest realization of Truth, where all things exist as they are, perfect and complete.
When man sees only with his human eyes, he perceives separation β a mountain here, water there. But when he awakens to the original source of all existence, he realizes that both mountain and water, though appearing different, arise from the same one Truth. π
Everything in creation is already complete β just as it is β but man cannot see it because he searches outside himself. Enlightenment is to see that everything, just as it exists, is Truth.
ORIGINAL WRITING BY MASTER WOO MYUNG
What Does the Phrase, βA Mountain Is a Mountain, Water Is Water,β Mean?
People see the mountain simply as a mountain and they see water simply as water. However the mountain and the water originally came from the same place and they do not exist separately. At the same time everything, just as it is, is Truth; namely, the mountain is a mountain, and water is water.
All things in creation, just as they are, are Truth, but man cannot see Truth. He is unable to find it, because he looks for it elsewhere. While the mountain is a mountain and water is water, the place where they come from and will go back to is the same, which is why it is expressed as, βa mountain is a mountain, water is waterβ. It means that things, just as they exist, are Truth.
β Woo Myung
REFLECT AT SANTA CLARA MEDITATION
π At Santa Clara Meditation, practitioners learn to see the world as it truly is β without illusion or separation. When the false self is discarded and oneβs mind becomes the Mind of the Universe, one realizes that everything is already Truth.
In this awakened state, there is no difference between mountain and water, heaven and earth, self and all. Everything simply is β complete, harmonious, and eternal. πΏ
