On March 9, 2013, at the Warsaw Zen Center, Koen Vermeulen received Inka from Zen Master Wu Bon

Vermeulen, Koen

Biblioteca Digital de les Illes Balears

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Vermeulen PSN: You tell me what comes just before last 
harmony. en I will tell you what is last harmony.
ZMWB: You are very clever.
Vermeulen PSN: You are my teacher!
Dharma Speech
[Raises the Zen stick over his head, then hits the table with 
the stick.]
Mountain is water and water is mountain.
is is opposites world. Everything is changing, chang-
ing, changing, and suering is everywhere. You and I can-
not make it disappear.
[Raises the Zen stick over his head, then hits the table with 
the stick.]
No water. No mountain.
is is emptiness world. In emptiness, suering never 
appeared. How could it disappear from here?
[Raises the Zen stick over his head, then hits the table with 
the stick.]
Water is water. Mountain is mountain.
is is truth world. At this point everything is clear. 
And the truth is only like this: suering is suering.
Which world is correct?
KATZ!
e mountain is blue. Water is owing.
So our teaching is clear: there is opposites world, emp-
March 9, 2013, at the Warsaw Zen Center
Dharma Combat
Chon Mun Sunim JDPS: When I was born, my par-
ents gave me the name “Darek.” When I took Buddhist 
precepts I received another name. And since I became a 
monk people call me Chon Mun. How do you call me if 
you don’t use any name?
Vermeulen PSN: I love you!
Question: As from today you will be a teacher in our 
school. I wonder, what is the taste of your dharma?
Vermeulen PSN: [Stands up and takes an apple from the 
altar.] Please try!
Q: [Takes a bite.] Hmm. Good taste! ank you for your 
teaching.
Vermeulen PSN: You are welcome.
Zen Master Wu Bong: Your name is Son Ung, which 
means First Harmony. But I’m not interested in rst har-
mony. What is last harmony?
Inka Ceremony for
Koen Vermeulen
Photo: Kwan Um School of Zen–Poland
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P R I M A R Y  P O I N T  F a l l  2 0 1 3
tiness world, truth world and nally function world. 
Some years ago, a woman was enjoying a holiday at 
the beach with her two little children: a nice little girl of 
three and a boy of ve. ey had a great time together. 
at very same day the tsunami hit the coast. At rst the 
mother could hold both of her children. But she was not 
strong enough. She had to let go one child if she wanted 
to save at least one of them. She thought that the boy had 
maybe a little better chance of surviving on his own, so 
she let go of him, knowing that he actually didn’t have any 
chance at all of surviving. Saving her girl meant killing her 
little boy. Saving the boy meant killing the little girl. is 
choice is so cruel: there is simply no solution.
e sun and the moon don’t have to make this kind of 
choice. e sky doesn’t have to make this kind of choice. 
is is our human condition: I think, so therefore I make 
opposites like life and death. erefore I suer. But if 
there is no I and no self-centered thinking, do you also 
have opposites and suering? Zen Master Seung Sahn 
said, “All questions come back to one point: What am I? 
Don’t know!”
I remember the rst time I became interested in this 
question.
In my mid-twenties I had a hard time. Life was one 
big struggle. I couldn’t sleep at night and I had a lot of 
doubts about myself. is went on for two years and I was 
completely exhausted. One evening, I went out for a walk 
in the elds and I realized I was about to break down. 
But then, in the midst of all that, I perceived something 
deep, deep inside. Something where suering cannot go. 
Something that cannot break down. Something that can-
not be killed.
If you attain this point completely, then you transcend 
the world of suering and you attain peace. However, 
even if you attain peace, this world is still suering. So, 
you cannot stop there.
I am very grateful that I could pursue my Zen training 
under Zen Master Wu Bong and Zen Master Bon Yo as 
my guiding teachers. Zen Master Bon Shim’s teaching was 
also essential. I found a few points in our teaching tradi-
tion that are very useful for my life. I already mentioned 
don’t know. en there is also try mind and direction. I 
have a story about that.
A few years ago, an elderly woman came to our Zen 
center. I told her that our practice is based on don’t-know 
mind. “Oh, I see what you mean. A few years before my 
husband died, he became sick. He couldn’t communicate 
anymore. So, I had to nd another way to communicate. 
So, I always had to keep don’t-know mind to understand 
his needs.” en she told me a story about how she used 
don’t-know mind in her life. She was standing in the line 
in a supermarket. ere was a man standing behind her 
with a very big mouth. He was talking loudly about his 
life as a mercenary in Africa: very vulgar and racist talk. It 
was clear that he was ready to attack anybody who would 
go against him. Just like our cigarette man, whatever you 
would say, he would hit you. People were shocked, and 
there was a real tension in the air, but nobody dared to 
say something. Our elderly woman also didn’t know what 
to do, but suddenly, without thinking, she turned around 
Photo: Kwan Um School of Zen–Poland
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and said: “If you want, you can go before me in the line.” 
is really hit the mind of this man. He got a red face and 
stammered, “No, no. ank you. I’m sorry.” 
If you clearly perceive the current situation of our 
world, there is no time to waste. You have a job to do: 
help this world. One point must be fully clear though. 
Where will you do it?
[Raises the Zen stick over his head, then hits the table with 
the stick.]
If you say you will do it in 
the suering world, emptiness 
world or truth world, this stick 
will hit you 30 times.
[Raises the Zen stick over his 
head, then hits the table with the 
stick.]
If you say you will do it in 
neither of these worlds, this 
stick will also hit you 30 times.
[Raises the Zen stick over his 
head, then hits the table with the 
stick.]
If you say you will do it in 
all of these worlds, this stick 
will hit you 90 times.
So, where is the correct 
place to help?
KATZ!
ank you for coming to 
this ceremony and listening. ◆
Koen Vermeulen began practicing in the Kwan Um School of Zen in 
1992. He participated in a seven-week retreat in 1995 and a three-
month Kyol Che in 1998. Koen lives with his wife and two sons below 
the Brussels Zen Center. In his free time he loves to play piano. 
In his current job as Secretary General of the Belgian Buddhist Union 
he is actively involved in the recognition of Buddhism in Belgium, in 
prison work and in the development of training programs such as Bud-
dhist philosophy and counseling in the health sector.  
Photo: Kwan Um School of Zen–Poland
what does it mean to be a good actor?
Piniński PSN: What are you doing now?
Piotrowski PSN: Sitting and talking with you.
Piniński PSN: Very good actor!
Piotrowski PSN: But what about you?
Piniński PSN: Not enough?
Piotrowski PSN: No.
Piniński PSN: A dog chases a bone.
Piotrowski PSN: [After a moment of hesitation . . .] OK. 
Schaefer PSN: Dzien dobry! [“Good day” in Polish.]
Piniński PSN: Guten Tag! [“Good day” in German.]
Schaefer PSN: So, Igor, it looks like you are getting some-
thing today and I’m losing something. You are becoming a 
Poep Sa Nim, and for the last three years I had the title of 
“baby Poep Sa Nim.” e youngest Poep Sa Nim. at’s 
what’s going to be your title now. And I will enter a very 
dicult stage now, called puberty. So I wonder, you are 
becoming a beautiful, just born, new Poep Sa Nim and 
you probably need no guidance anymore. How would you 
help me with my puberty?
March 9, 2013, at Warsaw Zen Center
Dharma Combat
Piotrowski PSN: I’m very happy to see you at this place.
Piniński PSN: I’m also very happy too see you, Poep Sa 
Nim.
Piotrowski PSN: I have a question for you. I think it may 
be close to your heart. I know that professionally you’re 
an actor . . .
Piniński PSN: It’s not true.
Piotrowski PSN: OK, but the rumor was that you’re an 
actor. I know that you have studied acting and it happens 
that in Zen we often say that Zen means being a good 
actor. You have been studying acting for so many years, 
Inka Ceremony for
Igor Piniński


Inka Ceremony for Koen Vermeulen

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