When Zen Master Dae Kwan (Sifu) was in Lithuania, the sangha there had arranged for her to give a talk in Palanga, a small town by the Baltic Sea. After the talk, an elderly homeless woman wanted to come close to Sifu. People stopped her, but Sifu was interested in meeting this woman.
Elderly Woman: I am very sick; my whole body is in pain. Would you touch my head and take away my pain?
Sifu: Sorry, I do not know how to touch you to take away your pain. But I could teach you how to practice, so that this pain cannot control you. Do you want to learn?
Elderly Woman: Please teach me!
Sifu: You follow me with this sound: ‘OM NAM, Om Nam, Om Nam…… (for a few minutes). Does the pain still bother you? Do you feel better?
Elderly Woman: Yes, I feel better now. But please take away my sickness.
Sifu: You repeating this mantra already takes away the pain in your mind!
Elderly Woman: But this body is still not well.
Sifu: Your body is not well, but your mind is clear and bright, isn’t it? Your body is sick, but your mind is healthy and perfect!
The elderly woman smiled and continued to chant ‘Om Nam……’ because she wanted to make sure that she was chanting it correctly. As Sifu was leaving the venue, she ran up to Sifu and handed Sifu 100 Euros. Sifu didn't want to take the money, but she insisted that Sifu keep the donation. Sifu immediately gave the money to the Lithuanian sangha -- the rental fee for the hall that evening was 100 Euros.
Commentary:
When the zen monk Hui Ke cut off his arm to ask for Bodhidharma's teaching, he experienced great pain and cried out to Bodhidharma, "Please pacify my mind; the pain is unbearable." Bodhidharma said, ‘Give me your pain. I will pacify it for you." Hui Ke said, "I have searched throughout my body and I cannot find it.’ Bodhidharma said, "I have already pacified your mind." At that moment, Hui Ke got great enlightenment. Later, he received transmission from Bodhidharma and became the 2nd Patriarch in the zen lineage!
If the pain still controls us, we need all kinds of practice to pacify our mind. But when you cannot find the mind, you attain that the mind originally is empty. This is the best medicine to heal all kinds of sufferings!
*Om Nam is a mantra that helps us purify the universe.