"Amitabha, Benefactor Lin, you're attached to appearances."
The abbot of Linshan Temple pressed his palms together and spoke to Lin Zuo.
"Self-form, Human-form, Sentient-form, Lifespan-form... I wonder which form I'm attached to."
Lin Zuo thought back to the Buddhist scriptures he'd read during the past few days of traveling with his wife and daughter, then asked.
"Human-form."
"What is Human-form?"
"Enlightened Witness."
Lin Zuo furrowed his brow at that answer.
"Abbot, could you explain it to me in detail?"
As he asked, Lin Zuo took out his checkbook, wrote down an amount, and handed over the check.
The abbot remained unmoved, seemingly undisturbed by external temptations.
The young novice monk beside him, however, stepped forward, picked up the check, and glanced at it. "Amitabha."
That seemed to rouse the abbot. He began, "The World-Honored One said: When all your limbs are at ease and you suddenly forget your own body, when your limbs are relaxed and you fail to care for them properly, even a slight prick from a needle or moxa makes you aware of yourself. Thus, only when awareness arises do you perceive your own body."
Lin Zuo furrowed his brow. He couldn't understand what the abbot was saying.
When the abbot finished, Lin Zuo asked with a frown, "Could you put it in simpler terms?"
The abbot opened his narrowed eyes a little and studied Lin Zuo for a moment before finally nodding slowly.
"The World-Honored One meant that when you're basking in the sun, your body at ease and your limbs relaxed, someone suddenly pricks you with a needle.
"When it hurts, in that instant, you don't experience it as a third party or an observer. You feel, 'I'm in pain.' The 'I' in that is Self-form."
"Self-form... Abbot, I'm asking about Human-form," Lin Zuo said.