Buddha is rice. A Zen monk came to ask the Venerable: - Could you give me a brief sentence, "What is Buddha?" so that I can enlighten and teach the masses. The Venerable replied: - Buddha is rice. Three days later, the monk came to see the Venerable Master, saying: - I don't understand anything. The Venerable said: - Think about it for three more days. Three days later, the monk came to the Venerable Master: - I still don't understand. The Venerable said: - Think for three more days. Three days later the monk came to see the Venerable Master. The Venerable asked: - Have you eaten yet? The monk replied: - Eaten. Where is the meal now? - The rice is in the stomach. What does rice turn into? - To nourish the body. Do you still see rice? - Yes, no. Hearing that answer, the Venerable Master said: - For more questions, I beat thirty times. After saying that, the monk fell and rolled. At that moment the monk attained enlightenment. The writer's interpretation: What is the great monk enlightened to? - If we say, "Buddha is a great enlightened being" then Buddha is just a word and we don't know how Buddha became enlightened. - If we say, "Buddha is a person with 32 good characteristics", it is like going to a beauty contest, only seeing the outer appearance but not seeing the depths of that person. - If we contemplate the Buddha image to imagine the Buddha, it is only the Buddha made of jade, gold, copper or wood or stone. That is "dead Buddha". - If we listen to Buddhist scriptures to understand Buddha, Buddha is just sound. Many times reading and chanting like a machine in the end "wherever it goes". Then we will forever remain just sentient beings immersed in samsara. Relying on those things, Buddha is still Buddha, I am still me. And if "Buddha is rice", then when "haven't eaten rice", ie not enlightened, Buddha is Buddha, I am me. When "eating rice" means that the Buddha has entered us, this Buddha turns into the life force of our body, feeding our body and mind. Then how much scum, uncleanness, and defilements are thrown out. Zen Buddhism or the old Zen masters did not stop at worshiping the Buddha or praising the Buddha, but sought to transform themselves into a Buddha. Zen Buddhism or Zen masters not only praise (praise) the Buddha but attain enlightenment and then practice Zen to enjoy the Buddha's attainment of peace, freedom, and freedom. Zen Buddhism or Zen masters do not ask the Buddha to save them but save themselves. Self-liberation and self-liberation are the weak points and strength of Zen Buddhism. Therefore, it can be said that Zen Buddhism is formidable, respectable and terrifying. We must not despise Zen and play with it. Through meditating on koans, Zen is a sect that brings Buddhism to life, making Buddhism more than just a ritual religion, recite, pray, and beg like other religions. Relying only on these things, believers and even monks will become inert, vicious in lust and reincarnation, and then wait for the cardinal to save him when he dies. The principle of Zen Buddhism is to "light the torch and walk" to be like Buddha. In Zen Buddhism, you have to understand first and then practice. Not being enlightened, but saying that practicing Zen is bad, like someone who borrows the king's robe to wear it but is not a king, ie not a Zen master. But what is enlightenment? It is to suddenly see in a wonderful or desperate moment "Buddha nature" or "Buddha truth" manifesting right in your mind. Those who only listen to or listen to lectures about Buddha nature but do not intuitively see Buddha nature right in their own person will fail to practice any dharma, let alone practice Zen. Cultivators who have not yet seen the Buddha-nature manifest vividly, like the blood circulating in the body, like the breath, like the pulse of life in the mind… but cultivating… is like a person digging for gold without seeing the gold ore in the ground, it will be in vain. That's why Zen masters who seek the way, even though they've been beaten by the Patriarchs, kicked a few feet, pinched their noses, yelled in the face or said "useless stuff"... but suddenly burst out laughing because they were so suddenly great. enlightenment. Contemplation of koans is the gateway to Zen. In Master Suzuki's Zen Treatise (Tue Si's translation), "Without a koan, the Zen consciousness loses its guide (guide) and will never have a state of enlightenment." If you want to know the vividness of Buddhism, the wonderful courage, the fierceness, the hardships of the Zen masters, please see Dong Son's koan "Buddha is three pounds of thorns". Then anecdotally, a monk asked Nam Vien, "What is Buddha?" The Master then asked, "What is not Buddha?" Then another time he replied, "I don't know him." Then another time he said, "I'll tell you when there is a Buddha." Then Ma To's powerful tricks have not yet preached the Dharma (upper court) but finished the sermon (lower court) to teach his disciples a vivid image, appearing in front of the eyes of "Form means emptiness". But seeing "Form means No". (not reading, chanting, or just talking) means that he has attained the wisdom of Bat Nha. In Christianity there is no such thing as becoming a God. In Islam there is no practice to become Allah In Hinduism there is no practice to become God (Brahma) Only in Buddhism can anyone become a Buddha. That's why Buddha taught that there are "Hang Ha Sa number of Buddhas" and "I am the Buddha who has attained. Sentient beings will become Buddhas.” Therefore, I firmly believe that from an early ancestor like Kassapa.END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.1/6/2021.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.