A

Collection of Writings
from
Zen Master
Nissim Amon
All is Well Nissim Amon
Imagine a very long minute in which you feel that all is well from the depth of your being. During this
special minute you are able to relax your shoulders, smile and unwind. All is perfectly well and there is
absolutely nothing to worry about.
Perhaps you can picture in your minds eye a hammock suspended between two coconut trees,
leaning over crystal clear water on a golden beach in the tropics. A place where cocktails are served with
tiny umbrellas and Bob Marley is singing in the background. A place where you can close your eyes and
experience an almost endless minute of complete relaxing All is Wellness.
Hundreds of thousands of people around the world plan their yearly vacation in order to experience
some of these moments of peace. This feeling of All is Well is needed mentally, as well as physically. In
these peaceful moments we are calm and wise, with infinite patience when listening, talking and doing.
Being encompassed by the All is Wellness feeling is happiness itself.
All is Well indicates a state of mind, nothing more. It is an inner All is Wellness, in no manner does
it reflect what is happening in the world outside. It is not a statement about external facts but a private
experience, just like the feeling on the hammock between the coconut trees. This feeling is open to all of us,
and this is what I teach here, at the Faculty of Happiness.
To discover your personal level of happiness, we will divide the big All Is Well into five categories and
see how you fare in each one of them. Happiness is extremely illusive, in order to get it right, you have to
have top marks in all five.
1. All is Well - Distant Past:
You carry your past in both your conscious and subconscious minds. On the conscious level, it does
not make much sense to drag a dead thing around with you all the time, mulling over it repeatedly just
because it happened. The only thing you can change about the past is your attitude towards it; Let the past
die. There is no reason to carry it around forever. It is far better to let go and leave it behind. You will feel
much happier and lighter.
However, on the subconscious level, just snapping your fingers is not enough to make the pain
disappear. Not everyone had a great childhood, being a teenager or an adult. The usual defense
mechanism is to repress anger, pain, trauma and tears. We hide them all away in our inner basement,
locked behind a thick door that we have painted white. When the basement is full, you cannot feel that All
is Well. A very profound spring cleaning is required.
Does your past weigh heavily on your chest? Has it made your heart shrivel? Have you really forgotten
everything, or do you still feel angry?
2. All is Well Near Past:
Those who tend to criticize themselves cannot feel that All is Well. Just before you go to sleep at
night, do you criticize yourself for all the things you said or did not say, did or did not do that were not up to
the level you consider they should be?
If you carry guilt around, if you feel you are under constant criticism, then whenever you experience
that All is Well feeling it will immediately be accompanied by fear. There cannot be All is Wellness in the
near past as long as you carry a policeman inside your head. We need to accept that whatever we did then
A Collection of Writings from Zen Master Nissim Amon All is Well
was the best we could do at that particular time, in that particular situation. In the near past, All is Well
can be achieved only after we learn to constantly accept ourselves as we are with forgiveness.
If you love someone dearly, would you tell them all the things they did wrong just before bedtime? Do
you treat yourself as you would someone you love dearly?
3. All is Well - Here and Now:
At this very moment if you are not in pain, if you are not hungry or thirsty, if you are not too hot or too
cold, if you dont need to go to the bathroom, right here, right now, in this very brief moment, all is perfectly well.
No past, no future, only the now, breathing in, breathing out, a little smile, feel how the All is Well
runs through your veins.
All that is left for you to do is to stay in this moment as often as possible.
4. All is Well Near Future:
Not being worried about tomorrow is the All is Well of the near future. Do not spend time on things
that have to be done the next day. Focus on your general attitude. The Near Future is all about trusting
yourself. If you trust that whatever you do will be done in the right way, you can relax in the now. Anxiety
and a lack of spontaneity are the opponents of the near future All is Well.
When you think about tomorrow, does it feel laborious or is it more like a game?
5. All is Well Distant Future:
The feeling of optimism that things are going to be just fine, can only grow if you feel confident that you
will not get stuck in places where you do not feel good.
We all want our future to be free from suffering. We all have an inner compass that points the way out
of suffering. Nevertheless, since elementary school, we have been educated to accept suffering as a part of
life. We were all subdued by being disciplined. By living up to other peoples expectations, you get detached
from your real feelings. When you ignore how you truly feel, how can you be calm about the future?
By promising yourself that you will never stay in a place where you suffer you will then feel better about
the distant future, immediately.
Are you strong enough to do this?
There are two types of being strong one is to be strong enough to endure suffering, the other is to be
strong enough to pull yourself out of suffering. Only the strength to shape your life yourself goes hand in
hand with optimism. The former is just an addiction to suffering.
Many schools of Esoteric Spiritualism point to the very special feeling we get when we manage to have
all five out of five All is Well. It is a tremendous feeling of relief, of liberation from something heavy,
existential ease and peace of mind, or to encompass it all into one word - happiness.
In the search for inner happiness,
You are the only person under scrutiny
You are the One and the One is you.
On the way to peace of mind,
There are five small enlightenments,
And one big one.
The small ones are insights into the different time zones,
The big one is when you realize,
All five are originally one.
A Collection of Writings from Zen Master Nissim Amon All is Well
Spiritual Education Nissim Amon
An orange sun approaches a blue sea. On a hill a shepherd sits under an olive tree surrounded by
sheep and goats. In the village a mother puts her child in a supermarket trolley, walks through the glass
doors and disappears inside. A man in an expensive car drives away from a large villa. An old woman
dressed in black crosses the street, a child holding a plastic truck waits on the sidewalk. A couple of
tourists draw money from a cash machine outside a bank. A normal day on a small island, nothing
unusual is happening.
The tourists look at the shepherd on the hill, thinking how wonderful it must be to see the sunset every
day in a picture postcard scene of happiness. But things are not always what they seem. It may very well
be that the shepherd is fed up with the flies, the smell of sheep and of being a shepherd on a small island.
Perhaps he is looking at the tourists, thinking how marvelous it must be to live in a big city and travel all
over the world. The mother may enjoy the air-conditioned supermarket, or she may be nervous, stressed
and fuming inside. The man in the expensive car may prefer to be at home and perhaps not. The widow in
black may be sad, but it is also possible she is happier than before.
The child on the sidewalk, the tourists, the woman sitting at a caf, the taxi driver, the old man on a
donkey, who is happy and who is not?
The question Are you happy? is illusive and complicated. Most people dare not ask, not even
themselves.
By the age of eighteen I had completed 13 years of formal education. During all those years, I do not
recall ever being asked, not even once How is the happiness situation at home? However, I do remember,
being asked what my father did for a living, what was the level of my parents education, how big our
house was and how many brothers and sisters I had, but never ever that fundamental question What is
the level of happiness at home? When I started dating girls and met their parents, they always wanted to
know the same thing, what my parents did for a living, never was I asked if they were happy people.
Later on, after I had travelled the world in my quest for happiness, I discovered that ignoring happiness
was something that occurred everywhere. Ignoring happiness was not only in my family, my schools and
my city. It was and is a world-wide phenomenon. It is probably deeply rooted in the patterns of human
thought. I observed people trying to achieve more, know more, pushing themselves to their furthest limits
and beyond. The pressure is immense, and more often than not comes from the parents. It seems as if life
is a race and people feel they have to be the first to reach the finishing line. But the finishing line keeps
moving further and further away, and as far as happiness is concerned, there appears to be a common
unspoken agreement not to talk about it.
I decided to focus on the riddle of happiness. There were other things I wanted in life, but happiness
was the one thing that I longed for most. After years of searching I found the answer to the question of:
Why do people all over the world avoid asking about happiness?
People ignore happiness because we grow up in an environment, where other things are considered to
be more important. Education is ongoing from the age of five, but were you ever told that happiness is
connected to freedom from negative thoughts? Did your parents teach you, not by words but by the example
they set, that to avoid suffering is an important value in life? Did they teach you that pressure,
dissatisfaction and criticism will eventually make you a bitter person? Were you taught that the best cure for
all disease is to be at peace with yourself? Did they live their lives that way? Did they love their lives?
You could be a goatherd, a mother with a child in a supermarket, a businessman, a member of
parliament, or a toilet paper designer this of no consequence. Happiness is not what we do but who we
A Collection of Writings from Zen Master Nissim Amon Spiritual Education
are on the inside. We all want to be happy, but we settle for the longing. We leave happiness out there as a
wishful dream. The purpose of education should be to free you from your inner burdens, not make you a
slave to them.
Simplify and find calm in your daily life. Try to be an observer rather than a judge. Be aware of the
moments you criticize others or feel angry with them. Remember these are your feelings, they reflect
something about you. Happiness comes from inner harmony. It is neither a side effect of what you do nor
a by-product of how much you have.
Let your actions be good, avoid doing wrong, constantly keep clearing your mind, and take good care
of yourself. This is Spiritual Education. This is the way to make happiness the basic condition of your life.
A Collection of Writings from Zen Master Nissim Amon Spiritual Education
Criticism Nissim Amon
A coral reef is a place full of life and vibrant colour, where hundreds of different species of fish and
plants live free of the need to criticize each other. Although an immense variety of life exists there, every
plant knows its place and each and every fish knows exactly where it belongs. Once in a while a human
diver appears with a mask and air-tanks, and like everybody else down there, he is not critical either.
The diver enjoys being a visitor to the underwater world, observing the richness and beauty of Nature
without judgment.
Things change the moment the diver steps out of the water and back onto dry land. Dry land
accommodates an infinite variety of humans, humans however seem to have innumerable opinions about
each other, so the game of criticizing one another, is one of their most favourite pastimes.
On the human reef, we sit on small balconies, observe our neighbours and complain: the octopus is a
mess, the crab is an idiot, the jellyfish is spineless, the silver fish is obsessed with glamour, the eel is too
slippery, and all the shallow water fish are limited and without depth. This takes place, in every house, in
every city, all over the world.
Criticism is so widespread that some consider it the ultimate social skill and are constantly polishing
their expertise. They are unaware that the stronger the stream of criticism flows, the further happiness
drifts away.
It really is romantic to travel to far away places, to walk hand in hand in a new and unfamiliar
environment, like two divers visiting a new coral reef. They do not understand the language; they are not
familiar with the local food. They sleep in a room smaller than what they are used to at home, and yet have
a great time. People really do touch happiness while abroad, because they avoid wasting time on being
judgemental about what they see around them. They simply observe and enjoy the new reef.
The divers are surrounded by the wonder and awe of observation, but the moment they start to criticize,
the magical, romantic atmosphere disappears. When tourists get back home how quickly they forget they
also live on a reef.
Two thousand five hundred years ago, the Buddha gave a small discourse on criticism. He said that
while it is easy to observe and point out other peoples faults, it is extremely difficult to see ones own. He
also said that most people hide their faults, like a dishonest gambler hides unlucky cards. The Bedouins of
the desert have a similar saying A camel cannot see his own hump!
So how can we see our own humps? To solve this riddle we must realize that we are not able to
criticize our own humps, because the hump is the very place where criticism comes from.
When we discover what is wrong with other people, we criticize them, but this criticism is entirely of
our own fabrication, and it has nothing much to do with the people themselves. Our shortcomings, flaws
and negativity are a reflection or projection of ourselves on others. Our hump is what criticizes other people
for having a bigger hump.
This inner voice, residing in our transparent hump, guarantees its survival thanks to the satisfying
feeling we get from patronizing others. It specializes in finding their faults and feeds off the elation the
feeling of superiority gives us.
If we lack a sense of self-worth, criticism becomes our way of avoiding self-examination. Becoming
aware of this is an important step in the right direction.
The next step is to have the courage and fortitude to remove the hump and consciously rid our lives of
obsessive criticism. Not only must one decide to do this, which is a huge step in itself, it is imperative to
A Collection of Writings from Zen Master Nissim Amon Criticism
constantly remind ourselves not to falter on this decision. Try writing yourself little notes and stick them on
all the mirrors in your house, make it a conscious effort, because it is so very easy to go back to criticizing
everything again.
Your hump has a knack of playing tricks on you by telling you that you have a good sense of self-
criticismdont be deceived by this. It is a very common deception. All forms of criticism come from the
same hump, and as previously mentioned, the Ego is incapable of criticizing itself, no matter what it claims.
When the positive spotlight is turned within it has nothing whatsoever to do with condemnation,
disapproval or judgement. When YOU look inside of yourself, it is called wakefulness, mindfulness and
awareness, not criticism.
The realization that you are neither superior nor inferior to anyone is a very high spiritual achievement.
When this understanding is no longer purely intellectual but goes to the deepest level of your heart, it will
give you the freedom that you seek, and also allow you the freedom of letting everyone else, be exactly who
they are and whatever they choose to be.
The person who doesnt feel he is superior behaves without pretension and one who knows that he is
not inferior feels no fear.
One hundred percent ordinary,
Is extra-ordinary.
From moment to moment,
Without judgment,
The truth we seek is reality itself.
On a hot summer night,
There is no need for criticism
in order to open the window.
When autumn appears,
Without opinions,
We take the blankets out of the closet.
A Collection of Writings from Zen Master Nissim Amon Criticism
Getting Off the Stage
Shortly after being born,
We are given a personal name and a family name.
Together with these is an identity number,
A flag, an anthem,
And without asking for anything other than love,
We are also burdened with tradition, religion and faith.
As we participate in a play called life,
We find ourselves in the midst of a prewritten script,
The stage has already been set,
With expectations from parents and society on top of this,
As Shakespeare well said,
The world is a stage and we are all actors.
There are innumerable roles to play,
We can choose whichever one pleases us,
On the condition it fits into the framework,
Of what has been given to us in advance.
Now, on the same day,
On opposite banks of a river,
Two babies are born.
Two unspoiled, innocent little souls,
Sucking from their mothers breasts,
Every now and then, they gurgle with contentment
And smile spontaneously.
After a while their education begins
As they have to know about their status in this world:
This is Mummy, this is Daddy,
This is Grandma, this is Grandpa,
Up there is god,
These are the true prophets,
We are good,
And those who live on the opposite bank,
Are really bad and dangerous.
Since children have not yet developed the sense of an independent mind,
They believe whatever they are told.
And that which is imprinted on the board of the heart when we are small,
Stays there for another hundred years.
Identification with this role is so absolute,
That the mask becomes glued to the face,
And mothers send their children to kill or be killed,
As if this is a part of the role they have to play.
Some people try very hard to make drastic changes:
They travel far and wide, change the way they dress,
They even decide to change their names,
A Collection of Writings from Zen Master Nissim Amon Getting Off the Stage
Great effort is made to alter their role.
But all roles are an illusion,
And it is not about changing your location on the stage,
It is about observing yourself from above it.
To understand what this means is not that easy
How do you look at the stage from afar?
But as you practice meditation
By looking at everything from a distance
Things become clearer and clearer,
Including your own mind.
Practicing meditation will make you see
How profound the illusion is.
Imagine a cloud floating in the sky
Stopping for a visit over Spain,
The Spanish government manages to convince it that it is Spanish
Therefore it is not permitted to let rain fall anywhere else.
What an achievement it would be for the Spanish people
If they could educate clouds into believing they are Spanish.
Clouds after all are not influenced by education -
This however is very different for us humans.
Who am I?
The boy asks of his mother,
Were does my spirit come from?
The girl asks of her father.
And the parents repeat what they were taught,
As they come from of a very long line of tradition.
Let me tell you about the spiritual work in Zen
It is a journey to find your original face.
The first step on this journey
Is to admit that we live in a form of illusion,
The second is to get off the stage and sit in the auditorium,
In order to look at the stage from a distance,
Totally free of any judgement
After many days of observation,
You eventually discover who you really are.
You then get up, turn around,
Walk up the aisle,
Out of the dark hall
Into the glaring light of day.
And then the surprise,
The exit door is circular, you have been tricked,
And you find yourself once again on the same stage.
The show has not changed,
People are the same and so is life.
What has changed though, is you
You have become a traveller without borders in this world.
A Collection of Writings from Zen Master Nissim Amon Getting Off the Stage
A
Collection of Writings
from
Zen Master
Nissim Amon
Nissim Amon (born 1963) is an Israeli Soto Zen priest based in
Israel. Ordained by Zen master Seung Sahn at Hwa Gae Sah in
Korea, Amon became both a monk and meditation teacher. Traveling
to Japan he studied under Gudo Wafu Nishijima-roshi, who gave
him Dharma transmission. As a wandering monk Amon trained in
Thailand, India and Nepal. In Puna, India he taught Zen at Osho
Center, where he learned a new approach to heal emotional wounds
(used to achieve inner balance). Nissim has published 3 books,
2 meditation CDs and currently teaches in Israel, Canada & Norway.