Nansen (748-834) was a disciple of Basso and the teacher of Joshu. The following exchange occurred when Joshu was a young man:
Joshu: What is the Way?
Nansen: Ordinary mind is the Way.
Joshu: Shall I seek it?
Nansen: No, if you seek it you cannot find it.
Joshu: Then how shall I know the Way?
Nansen: The way is not a matter of knowing or not knowing. Knowing is delusion; not knowing is confusion.
The true Way is as vast and boundless as outer space. How can you talk about it in terms of right and wrong?
At this Joshu became enlightened.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Since all Dharmas are immanent in our mind there is no reason why we
should not realize intuitively the real nature of Suchness. The
Bodhisattva Sila Sutra says, "Our Essence of Mind is intrinsically pure,
and if we knew our mind and realized what our nature is, all of us would
attain Buddhahood."
-Hui Neng
"When our mind works freely without any hindrance, and is at liberty to 'come' or to 'go', we attain Samadhi of Prajna, or liberation. Such a state is called the function of 'thoughtlessness'. But to refrain from thinking of anything, so that all thoughts are suppressed, is to be Dharma-ridden, and this is an erroneous view."
— Hui-Neng
While washing the dishes one should only be washing the dishes, which means the while washing the dishes one should be completely aware of the fact that one is washing the dishes. At first glance, that might seem a little silly: why put so much stress on a simple thing? But that's precisely the point. The fact that I am standing there and washing these bowls is a wondrous reality. I'm being completely myself, following my breath, conscious of my presence, and conscious of my thoughts and actions. There's no way I can be tossed around mindlessly like a bottle slapped here and there on the waves.
- THICH NHAT HANH
should not realize intuitively the real nature of Suchness. The
Bodhisattva Sila Sutra says, "Our Essence of Mind is intrinsically pure,
and if we knew our mind and realized what our nature is, all of us would
attain Buddhahood."
-Hui Neng
"When our mind works freely without any hindrance, and is at liberty to 'come' or to 'go', we attain Samadhi of Prajna, or liberation. Such a state is called the function of 'thoughtlessness'. But to refrain from thinking of anything, so that all thoughts are suppressed, is to be Dharma-ridden, and this is an erroneous view."
— Hui-Neng
While washing the dishes one should only be washing the dishes, which means the while washing the dishes one should be completely aware of the fact that one is washing the dishes. At first glance, that might seem a little silly: why put so much stress on a simple thing? But that's precisely the point. The fact that I am standing there and washing these bowls is a wondrous reality. I'm being completely myself, following my breath, conscious of my presence, and conscious of my thoughts and actions. There's no way I can be tossed around mindlessly like a bottle slapped here and there on the waves.
- THICH NHAT HANH
What is Zen?
Answer: Who wants to know?
Q: The one who perceives.
A: There is no entity which perceives (or rather, he/she is merely a concept of convenience). Awareness neither exists nor does not exist, and the 'self' is merely one of 10,000 objects which are all equally unreal.
Q: HAHA. Yeah right.
A: What is aware of the one that comes in the morning and leaves at night? What knows that? It cannot be an entity - for it is aware of both 'entity' and 'no entity'. Otherwise how can the 'entity' know its own disappearance? Likewise, the character in the dream is realized to be false, unreal, and not separate from other dream objects.
Every day it is witnessed that the I is unreal.
Q: The one who perceives.
A: There is no entity which perceives (or rather, he/she is merely a concept of convenience). Awareness neither exists nor does not exist, and the 'self' is merely one of 10,000 objects which are all equally unreal.
Q: HAHA. Yeah right.
A: What is aware of the one that comes in the morning and leaves at night? What knows that? It cannot be an entity - for it is aware of both 'entity' and 'no entity'. Otherwise how can the 'entity' know its own disappearance? Likewise, the character in the dream is realized to be false, unreal, and not separate from other dream objects.
Every day it is witnessed that the I is unreal.
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