teaching Feb 02, 2023

When the bell was hit tonight during the Evening Bell Chant, some people thought, “Uhmm, wonderful… Oh, great!” Other people thought, “Not loud enough!” Other people said, “I wish he’d do it faster!” Somebody else said, “What’s he doing?”

All of that is commentary. Don’t-Know means let go of the commentary and just hear the bell. Simple as that. You and the bell become one. Where is the separation?

I believe I am here, and the bell is there. But that’s my idea. Where is the separation between you and the bell? Between you, (ZMBS picks up the stick and hits it on the floor) and that sound? Where do you start and the sound end? (Hits the floor again.) You may have some idea about it, but actually, you don’t know. If you just let that "don’t know" be, then it’s already complete. It doesn’t need anything more.

By Zen Master Bon Soeng