Bodhidharma (Da Mo) was the first Ch'an/Zen patriarch in
China.
http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Buddhism/C%20-%20Zen/Ancestors/The%20Zen%20Teachings%20of%20Bodhidharma/The%20Zen%20Teachings%20of%20Bodhidharma/THE%20ZEN%20TEACHINGS%20OF%20BODHIDHARMA.htm
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THE ZEN TEACHINGS OF
BODHIDHARMA
Translated by Red Pine
1987
Outline of Practise
The Bloodstream Sermon
The Wake-up Sermon
The Breakthrough Sermon
Outline of
Practice
MANY roads lead to the Path, but basically there are only two:
reason and practice. To enter by reason means to realize the
essence through instruction and to believe that all living things
share the same true nature, which isn’t apparent because it’s
shrouded by sensation and delusion. Those who turn from delusion
back to reality, who meditate on walls,’ the absence of self and
other, the oneness of mortal and sage, and who remain unmoved even
by scriptures are in complete and unspoken agreement with reason.
Without moving, without effort, they enter, we say, by reason.
To enter by practice refers to four all-inclusive practices:
Suffering injustice, adapting to conditions, seeking nothing, and
practicing the Dharma. First, suffering injustice. When those who
search for the Path encounter adversity, they should think to
themselves, "In Countless ages gone by, I’ve turned from the
essential to the trivial and wandered through all manner of
existence, often angry without cause and guilty of numberless
transgressions.
Now, though I do no wrong, I’m punished by my past. Neither gods
nor men can foresee when an evil deed will bear its fruit. I accept
it with an open heart and without complaint of injustice. The
sutras say " when you meet with adversity don’t be upset because it
makes sense." With such understanding you’re in harmony with
reason. And by suffering injustice you enter the Path. Second,
adapting to conditions. As mortals, we’re ruled by conditions, not
by ourselves. All the suffering and joy we experience depend on
conditions. If we should be blessed by some great reward, such as
fame or fortune, it’s the fruit of a seed planted by us in the
past. When conditions change, it ends. Why delight In Its
existence? But while success and failure depend on conditions, the
mind neither waxes nor wanes. Those who remain unmoved by the wind
of joy silently follow the Path.
Third, seeking nothing. People of this world are deluded.
They’re always longing for something-always, in a word, seeking.
But the wise wake up. They choose reason over custom. They fix
their minds on the sublime and let their bodies change with the
seasons. All phenomena are empty. They contain nothing worth
desiring. Calamity forever alternates with Prosperity! To dwell in
the three realms is to dwell in a burning house. To have a body is
to suffer. Does anyone with a body know peace? Those who understand
this detach themselves from all that exists and stop Imagining or
seeking anything. The sutras say, "To seek is to suffer.
To seek nothing is bliss." When you seek nothing, you’re on the
Path. Fourth, practicing the Dharma.’ The Dharma is the truth that
all natures are pure. By this truth, all appearances are empty.
Defilement and attachment, subject and object don’t exist. The
sutras say, "The Dharma includes no being because it’s free from
the impurity of being, and the Dharma includes no self because it’s
free from the impurity of self." Those wise enough to believe and
understand these truths are bound to practice according to the
Dharma. And since that which is real includes nothing worth
begrudging, they give their body, life, and property in charity,
without regret, without the vanity of giver, gift, or recipient,
and without bias or attachment. And to eliminate impurity they
teach others, but without becoming attached to form. Thus, through
their own practice they’re able to help others and glorify the Way
of Enlightenment. And as with charity, they also practice the other
virtues. But while practicing the six virtues to eliminate
delusion, they practice nothing at all. This is what’s meant by
practicing the Dharma.
Bloodstream
Sermon
Everything that appears in the three realms comes from the mind.
Hence Buddhas of the past and future teach mind to mind without
bothering about definitions. But if they don’t define it, what do
they mean by mind? You ask. That’s your mind. I answer. That’s my
mind. If I had no mind how could I answer? If you had no mind, how
could you ask? That which asks is your mind. Through endless
kalpas" without beginning, whatever you do, wherever you are,
that’s your real mind, that’s your real buddha. This mind is the
buddha" says the same thing. Beyond this mind you’ll never find
another Buddha. To search for enlightenment or nirvana beyond this
mind is impossible. The reality of your own self-nature the absence
of cause and effect, is what’s meant by mind. Your mind is nirvana.
You might think you can find a Buddha or enlightenment somewhere
beyond the mind’, but such a place doesn’t exist.
Trying to find a Buddha or enlightenment is like trying to grab
space. Space has
a name but no form. It’s not something you can pick up or put
down. And you certainly can’t grab if. Beyond mind you’ll never see
a Buddha. The Buddha is a product of the mind. Why look for a
Buddha beyond this mind?
Buddhas of the past and future only talk about this mind. The
mind is the Buddha, and the Buddha is the mind. Beyond the mind
there’s no Buddha and beyond the Buddha there’s no mind. If you
think there is a Buddha beyond the mind’, where is he? There’s no
Buddha beyond the mind, so why envision one? You can’t know your
real mind as long as you deceive yourself. As long as you’re
enthralled by a lifeless form, you’re not free. If you don’t
believe me, deceiving yourself won’t help. It’s not the Buddha’s
fault. People, though, are deluded. They’re unaware that their own
mind is the Buddha. Otherwise they wouldn’t look for a Buddha
outside the mind.
Buddhas don’t save Buddhas. If you use your mind to look for a
Buddha, you won’t see the Buddha. As long as you look for a Buddha
somewhere else, you’ll never see that your own mind is the Buddha.
Don’t use a Buddha to worship a Buddha. And don’t use the mind to
invoke a Buddha." Buddhas don’t recite sutras." Buddhas don’t keep
precepts." And Buddhas don’t break precepts. Buddhas don’t keep or
break anything. Buddhas don’t do good or evil.
To find a Buddha, you have to see your nature." Whoever sees his
nature is a Buddha. If you don’t see your nature, invoking Buddhas,
reciting sutras, making offerings, and keeping precepts are all
useless. Invoking Buddhas results in
good karma, reciting sutras results in a good memory; keeping
precepts results in a good rebirth, and making offerings results in
future blessings-but no buddha. If you don’t understand by
yourself, you’ll have to find a teacher to get to the bottom of
life and death. But unless he sees his nature, such a person isn’t
a tea6er. Even if he can recite the Twelvefold Canon he can’t
escape the Wheel of Birth and Death. He suffers in the three realms
without hope of release. Long ago, the monk Good Star 21 was able
to recite the entire Canon. But he didn’t escape the Wheel, because
he didn’t see his nature. If this was the case with Good Star, then
people nowadays who recite a few sutras or shastras and think it’s
the Dharma are fools. Unless you see your mind, reciting so much
prose is useless.
To find a Buddha all you have to do is see your nature. Your
nature is the Buddha. And the Buddha is the person who’s free: free
of plans, free of cares. If you don’t see your nature and run
around all day looking somewhere else, you’ll never find a buddha.
The truth is there’s nothing to find. But to reach such an
understanding you need a teacher and you need to struggle to make
yourself understand. Life and death are important. Don’t suffer
them in vain.
There’s no advantage in deceiving yourself. Even if you have
mountains of jewels and as many servants as there are grains of
sand along the Ganges, you see them when your eyes are open. But
what about when your eyes are shut? You should realize then that
everything you see is like a dream or illusion.
If you don’t find a teacher soon, you’ll live this life in vain.
It’s true, you have the buddha-nature. But the help of a teacher
you’ll never know it. Only one person in a million becomes
enlightened without a teacher’s help. If, though, by the
conjunction of conditions, someone understands what the Buddha
meant, that person doesn’t need a teacher. Such a person has a
natural awareness superior to anything taught. But unless you’re so
blessed, study hard, and by means of instruction you’ll
understand.
People who don’t understand and think they can do so without
study are no different from those deluded souls who can’t tell
white from black." Falsely proclaiming the Buddha-Dharma, such
persons in fact blaspheme the Buddha and subvert the Dharma. They
preach as if they were bringing rain. But theirs is the preaching
of devils not of Buddhas. Their teacher is the King of Devils and
their disciples are the Devil’s minions. Deluded people who follow
such instruction unwittingly sink deeper in the Sea of Birth and
Death. Unless they see their nature, how can people call themselves
Buddhas they’re liars who deceive others into entering the realm of
devils. Unless they see their nature, their preaching of the
Twelvefold Canon is nothing but the preaching of devils. Their
allegiance is to Mara, not to the Buddha. Unable to distinguish
white from black, how can they escape birth and death?
Whoever sees his nature is a Buddha; whoever doesn’t is a
mortal. But if you can find your buddha-nature apart from your
mortal nature, where is it? Our mortal nature is our Buddha nature.
Beyond this nature there’s no Buddha. The Buddha is our nature.
There’s no Buddha besides this nature. And there’s no nature
besides the Buddha. But suppose I don’t see my nature, cant I still
attain enlightenment by invoking Buddhas, reciting sutras, making
offerings, observing precepts, Practicing devotions, or doing good
works?
No, you can’t. Why not?
If you attain anything at all, it’s conditional, it’s karmic. It
results in retribution. It turns the Wheel. And as long as you’re
subject to birth and death, you’ll never attain enlightenment. To
attain enlightenment you have to see your nature. Unless you see
your nature, all this talk about cause and effect is nonsense.
Buddhas don’t practice nonsense. A Buddha free of karma free of
cause and effect. To say he attains anything at all is to slander a
Buddha. What could he possibly attain? Even focusing on a mind, a
power, an understanding, or a view is impossible for a Buddha. A
Buddha isn’t one sided. The nature of his mind is basically empty,
neither pure nor impure. He’s free of practice and realization.
He’s free of cause and effect.
A Buddha doesn’t observe precepts. A Buddha doesn’t do good or
evil. A Buddha isn’t energetic or lazy. A Buddha is someone who
does nothing, someone who can’t even focus his mind on a Buddha. A
Buddha isn’t a Buddha. Don’t think about Buddhas. If you dont see
what I’m talking about, you’ll ever know your own mind. People who
don’t see their nature and imagine they can practice
thoughtlessness all the time are lairs and fools. They fall into
endless space. They’re like drunks. They can’t tell good from evil.
If you intend to cultivate such a practice, you have to see your
nature before you can put an end to rational thought. To attain
enlightenment without seeing your nature is impossible. Still
others commit all sorts of evil deeds, claiming karma doesn’t
exist. They erroneously maintain that since everything is empty
committing evil isn’t wrong. Such persons fall into a hell of
endless darkness with no hope of release. Those who are wise hold
no such conception.
But if our every movement or state, whenever it occurs, is the
mind, why don’t we see this mind when a person’s body dies?
The mind is always present. You just don’t see it.
But if the mind is present, why don’t I see it?
Do you ever dream?
Of course.
When you dream, is that you?
Yes, it’s me.
And is what you’re doing and saying different from you?
No, it isn’t.
But if it isn’t, then this body is your real body. And this real
body is your mind. And this mind, through endless kalpas without
beginning, has never varied. It has never lived or died, appeared
or disappeared, increased or decreased. Its not pure or impure,
good or evil, past or future. It’s not true or false. It’s not mate
or female. It doesn’t appear as a monk or a layman, an elder or a
novice, a sage or a fool, a Buddha or a mortal. It strives ‘for no
realization and suffers no karma. It has no strength or form. It’s
like space. You can’t possess it and you can’t lose it. Its
movements can’t be blocked by mountains, rivers, or rock walls. Its
unstoppable powers penetrate the Mountain of Five Skandhas and
cross the River of Samsara." No karma can restrain this real body.
But this mind is subtle and hard to see. It’s not the same as the
sensual mind. Every I one wants to see this mind, and those who
move their hands and feet by its light are as many as the grains of
sand along the Ganges, but when you ask them, they can’t explain
it. They’re like puppets. It’s theirs to use. Why don’t they see
it?
The Buddha said people are deluded. This Is why when they act
they fall into the river of endless rebirth. And when they try to
get out they only sink deeper. And all because they don’t see their
nature. If people weren’t deluded why would they ask about
something right in front of them? Not one of they understands the
movement of his own hands and feet. The Buddha wasn’t mistaken.
Deluded people don’t know who they are. A Buddha and no one else
know something so hard to fathom. Only the wise knows mind, this
mind call nature, this mind called liberation. Neither life nor
death can restrain this mind. Nothing can. It’s also called the
Unstoppable Tathagata," the Incomprehensible, the Sacred Self, the
Immortal, the Great Sage. Its names vary but not its essence.
Buddhas vary too, but none leaves his own mind. The mind’s capacity
is limitless, and its manifestations are inexhaustible. Seeing
forms with your eyes, hearing sounds with your ears, smelling odors
with your nose, tasting flavors with your tongue, every movement or
state is your entire mind. At every moment, where language can’t
go, that’s your mind.
The sutras say, "A Tathagata’s forms are endless. And so is his
awareness." The endless variety of forms is due to the mind. Its
ability to distinguish things, whatever their movement or state, is
the mind’s awareness. But the mind has no form and its awareness no
limit. Hence it’s said, "A Tathagata’s forms are endless. And so is
his awareness." A material body of the four elements" is trouble. A
material body is subject to birth and death. But the real body
exists without existing, because a Tathagata’s real body never
changes. The sutras say, "People should realize that the
buddha-nature is something they have always had." Kashyapa only
realized his own nature.
Our nature is the mind. And the mind is our nature. This nature
is the same as the mind of all Buddhas. Buddhas of the past and
future only transmit this mind. Beyond this mind there’s no Buddha
anywhere. But deluded people don’t realize that their own mind is
the Buddha. They keep searching outside. They never stop invoking
Buddhas or worshipping Buddhas and wondering Where is the buddha?
Don’t indulge in such illusions. Just know your mind. Beyond your
mind there’s no other Buddha. The sutras say, "Everything that has
form is an illusion." They also say, "Wherever you are, there’s a
Buddha." Your mind is the Buddha. Don’t use a Buddha to worship a
Buddha.
Even if a Buddha or bodhisattva" should suddenly appear before
you, there’s no need for reverence. This mind of ours is empty and
contains no such form. Those who hold onto appearances are devils.
They fall from the Path. Why worship
illusions born of the mind? Those who worship don’t know, and
those who know don’t worship. By worshipping you come under the
spell of devils. I point this out because 1 afraid you’re unaware
of it. The basic nature of a Buddha has no such form. Keep this in
mind, even if something unusual should appear. Don’t embrace it,
and don’t fear it, and don’t doubt that your Mind is basically
pure. Where could there be room for any such form? Also, at the
appearance of spirits, demons, or divine conceive neither respect
nor fear. Your mind is basically empty. All appearances are
illusions. Don’t hold on to appearances. If you envision a Buddha,
a Dharma, or a bodhisattva" and conceive respect for them, you
relegate yourself to the realm of mortals. If you seek direct
understanding, don’t hold on to any appearance whatsoever, and
you’ll succeed. I have no other advice. The sutras say, "All
appearances are illusions." They have no fixed existence, o
constant form. They’re impermanent. Don’t cling to appearances and
you’ll be of one mind with the Buddha. The sutras say, "’That which
is free of all form is the Buddha."
But why shouldn’t we worship Buddhas and bodhisattvas?
Devils and demons possess the power of manifestation. They can
create the appearance of bodhisattvas in all sorts of guises. But
they’re false. None of them are Buddhas. The Buddha is your own
mind. Don’t misdirect your worship.
Buddha is Sanskrit for what you call aware, miraculously aware.
Responding, arching your brows blinking your eyes, moving your
hands and feet, its all your miraculously aware nature. And this
nature is the mind. And the mind is the Buddha. And the Buddha is
the path. And the path is Zen. But the word Zen is one that remains
a puzzle to both mortals and sages. Seeing your nature is Zen.
Unless you see your nature, it’s not Zen.
Even if you can explain thousands of sutras and shastras, unless
you see your own nature yours is the teaching of a mortal, not a
Buddha. The true Way is sublime. It can’t be expressed in language.
Of what use are scriptures? But someone who sees his own nature
finds the Way, even if he can’t read a word. Someone who sees his
nature is a Buddha. And since a Buddha’s body is intrinsically pure
and unsullied, and everything he says is an expression of his mind,
being basically empty, a buddha can’t be found in words or anywhere
in the Twelvefold Canon.
The Way is basically perfect. It doesn’t require perfecting. The
Way has no form or sound. It’s subtle and hard to perceive. It’s
like when you drink water: you know how hot or cold it is, but you
can’t tell others. Of that which only a
Tathagata knows men and gods remain unaware. The awareness of
mortals falls short. As long as ,they’re attached to appearances,
they’re unaware that their minds are empty.
And by mistakenly clinging to the appearance of things they lose
the Way. If you know that everything comes from the mind, don’t
become attached. Once attached, you’re unaware. But once you see
your own nature, the entire Canon becomes so much prose. Its
thousands of sutras and shastras only amount to a clear mind.
Understanding comes in midsentence. What good are doctrines? The
ultimate Truth is beyond words. Doctrines are words.
They’re not the Way. The Way is wordless. Words are illusions.
They’re no different from things that appear in your dreams at
night, be they palaces or carriages, forested parks or lakeside
‘lions. Don’t conceive any delight for such things. They’re all
cradles of rebirth. Keep this in mind when you approach death.
Don’t cling to appearances, and you’ll break through all barriers.
A moment’s hesitation and you’ll be under the spell of devils. Your
real body is pure and impervious. But because of delusions you’re
unaware of it. And because of this you suffer karma in vain.
Wherever you find delight, you find bondage. But once you awaken to
your original body and mind," you’re no longer bound by
attachments.
Anyone, who gives up the transcendent for the mundane, ill any
of its myriad forms, is a mortal. A Buddha is someone who finds
freedom in good fortune and bad. Such is his power that karma can’t
hold him. No matter what kind of karma Buddha transforms it. Heaven
and hell are nothing to him. But the awareness of a mortal is dim
compared to that of a Buddha who penetrates everything inside and
out. If you’re not sure don’t act. Once you act, you wander through
birth and death and regret having no refuge. Poverty and hardship
are created by false thinking. To understand this mind you have to
act without acting. Only then will you see things from a
Tathagata’s perspective.
But when you first embark on the Path, your awareness won’t
focused. But you shouldn’t doubt that all such scenes come from
your own mind and nowhere else.
If, as in a dream, you see a light brighter than the sun, your
remaining attachments will suddenly come to an end and the nature
of reality will be revealed. Such an occurrence serves as the basis
for enlightenment. But this is something only you know. You can’t
explain it to others. Or if, while you’re walking, standing,
sitting, or lying in a quiet grove, you see a light, regardless of
whether it’s bright or dim, don’t tell others and don’t focus on
it. It’s the light of your own nature.
Or if, while you’re walking, standing, sitting, or lying in the
stillness and darkness of night, everything appears as though in
daylight, don’t be startled. It’s your own mind about to reveal
itself.
Or if, while you’re dreaming at night, you see the moon and
stars in all their clarity, it means the workings of your mind are
about to end. But don’t tell others. And if your dreams aren’t
clear, as if you were walking in the dark, it’s because your mind
is masked by cares. This too is something of" you know. if you so
your nature,, you don’t need to read sutras or invoke buddhas.
Erudition and Knowledge are not only useless but also cloud your
awareness. Doctrines are only for pointing to the mind. Once you
see your mind, why pay attention to doctrines?
To go from mortal to Buddha, you have to put an end to karma,
nurture your awareness, and accept what life brings. If you’re
always getting angry, you’ll turn your nature against the Way.
There’s no advantage in deceiving yourself. Buddhas move freely
through birth and death, appearing and disappearing at will. They
can’t be restrained by karma or overcome by devils. Once mortals
see their nature, all attachments end. Awareness isn’t hidden. But
you can only find it right now. It’s only now. If you really want
to find the Way, don’t hold on to anything. Once you put an end to
karma and nurture your awareness, any attachments that remain will
come to an end. Understanding comes naturally. You don’t have to
make any effort. But fanatics don’t understand what the Buddha
meant. And the harder they try, the farther they get from the
Sage’s meaning. All day long they invoke Buddhas and read sutras.
But they remain blind to their own divine nature, and they don’t
escape the Wheel.
A Buddha is an idle person. He doesn’t run around after fortune
and fame. What good are such things in the end? People who don’t
see their nature and think reading sutras, invoking Buddhas’,
studying long and hard, practicing morning
and night, never lying down, or acquiring knowledge is the
Dharma, blaspheme the Dharma. Buddhas of the past and future only
talk about seeing your nature. All practices are impermanent.
Unless they see their nature people who claim to have attained
unexcelled, complete enlightenment" are liars. Among Shakyamuni’s
ten greatest disciples, Ananda was foremost in learning. But he
didn’t know the Buddha. All he did was study and memorize. Arhats
don’t know the Buddha. All they know are so many practices for
realization, and they become trapped by cause and effect. Such is a
mortal’s karma: no escape from birth and death. By doing the
opposite of what lie intended, Such people blaspheme the Buddha.
Killing them would not be wrong. The sutras say, "Since icchantikas
are incapable of belief, killing them would be blameless, whereas
people who believe reach the state of Buddhahood."
Unless you see your nature, You shouldn’t go around criticizing
the goodness of others. There’s no advantage in deceiving yourself.
Good and bad are distinct. Cause and effect are clear. Heaven and
hell are right before your eves. But fools don’t believe and fall
straight into a hell of endless darkness without even knowing it.
What keeps them from believing is the heaviness of their karma.
They’re like blind people who don’t believe there’s such a thing as
light. Even if you explain it to them, they still don t believe,
because they’re blind. How can they possibly distinguish light?
The same holds true for fools who end up among the lower orders
of existence or among the poor and despised. They can’t live and
they can’t die. And despite their sufferings, if you ask them, they
say they’re as happy as gods. All mortals even those who think
themselves wellborn, are likewise unaware. Because of the heaviness
of their karma, such fools can’t believe and can’t get free.
People who see that their mind is the Buddha don’t need to shave
their head" Laymen are Buddhas too. Unless they see their nature,
people who shave their head are simply fanatics.
But since married laymen don’t give up sex, bow can they become
Buddhas? I only talk about seeing your nature. I don’t talk about
sex simply because you don’t see your nature. Once you see your
nature, sex is basically immaterial. It ends along with your
delight in it. Even if some habits remain’, they can’t harm you,
because your nature is essentially pure. Despite dwelling in a
material body of four elements, your nature is basically pure. It
can’t be corrupted.
Your real body is basically pure. It can’t be corrupted. Your
real body has no sensation, no hunger or thirst’, no warmth or
cold, no sickness, no love or attachment, no pleasure or pain, no
good or bad, no shortness or length, no weakness or strength.
Actually, there’s nothing here. It’s only because you cling to this
material body that things like hunger and thirst, warmth and cold,
sickness appear Once you stop clinging and let things be, you’ll-
be free, even of birth and death. You’ll transform everything.
You’ll possess Spiritual powers " that cant be obstructed. And
you’ll be at peace wherever you are. If you doubt this, you’ll
never see through anything. You’re better off doing nothing. Once
you act, you can’t avoid the cycle of birth and death. But once you
see your nature, you’re a Buddha even if you work as a butcher.
But butchers create karma by slaughtering animals. How can they
be Buddhas?
I only talk about seeing your nature. I don’t talk about
creating karma. Regardless of what we do, our karma has no hold on
us. Through endless kalpas without beginning, its only because
people don’t see their nature that they end up in hell. As long as
a person creates karma, he keeps passing through birth and death.
But once a person realizes his original nature, he stops creating
karma. If he doesn’t see his nature, invoking Buddhas won’t release
him from his karma, regardless of whether or not he’s a butcher.
But once he sees his nature, all doubts vanish. Even a butcher’s
karma has no effect on such a person. In India the twenty-seven
patriarchs only transmitted the imprint of the mind.
And the only reason I’ve come to China is to transmit the
instantaneous teaching of the Mahayana This mind is the Buddha. I
don’t talk about precepts, devotions or ascetic practices such
immersing yourself in water and fire, treading a wheel of knives,
eating one meal a day, or never lying down. These are fanatical,
provisional teachings. Once you recognize your moving, miraculously
aware nature.
Yours is the mind of all Buddhas. Buddhas of the past and future
only talk about transmitting the mind.
They teach nothing else if someone understands this teaching,
even if he’s illiterate he’s a Buddha. If You don’t see your own
miraculously aware nature, you’ll never find a Buddha even if you
break your body into atoms.
The Buddha is your real body, your original mind. This mind has
no form or characteristics, no cause or effect, no tendons or
bones. It’s like space. You can’t hold it. Its not the mind or
materialists or nihilists. Except for a Tathagata, no one else- no
mortal, no deluded being-can fathom it.
But this mind isn’t somewhere outside the material body of four
elements.Without this mind we can’t move. The body has no
awareness. Like a plant or stone, the body has no nature. So how
does it move? It’s the mind that moves. Language and behavior,
perception and conception are all functions of the moving mind. All
motion is the mind’s motion. Motion is its function. Apart from
motion there’s no mind, and apart from the mind there’s no motion.
But motion isn’t the mind. And the mind isn’t motion. Motion is
basically mindless. And the mind is basically motionless. But
motion doesn’t exist without the mind. And the mind doesn’t exist
without motion. Theres no mind for motion to exist apart from,
and
no motion for mind to exist apart from. Motion is the mind’s
function, and its function is its motion. Even so, the mind neither
moves nor functions, the essence of its functioning is emptiness
and emptiness is essentially motionless. Motion is the same as the
mind. And the mind is essentially motionless. Hence the Sutras tell
us to move without moving, to travel without traveling, to see
without seeing, to laugh without laughing, to hear without hearing,
to know without knowing, to be happy, without being happy, to walk
without walking, to stand without standing. And the sutras say, "Go
beyond language. Go beyond thought." Basically, seeing, hearing,
and knowing are completely empty. Your anger, Joy, or pain is like
that of puppet. You search but you won’t find a thing.
According to the Sutras, evil deeds result in hardships and good
deeds result in blessings. Angry people go to hell and happy people
go to heaven. But once you know that the nature of anger and joy is
empty and you let them go, you free yourself from karma. If you
don’t see your nature, quoting sutras is no help, I could go on,
but this brief sermon will have to do.
Wake-up
Sermon
The essence of the Way is detachment. And the goal of those who
practice is freedom from appearances. The sutras say, Detachment is
enlightenment because it negates appearances. Buddhahood means
awareness Mortals whose minds are aware reach the Way of
Enlightenment and are therefore called Buddhas. The sutras say,
"Those who free themselves from all appearances are called
Buddhas." The appearance of appearance as no appearance can’t be
seen visually but can only be known by means of wisdom. Whoever
hears and believes this teaching embarks on the Great Vehicle" and
leaves the three realms. The three realms are greed, anger, and
delusion. To leave the three realms means to go from greed, anger,
and delusion back to morality, meditation, and wisdom. Greed,
anger, and delusion have no nature of their own. They depend on
mortals. And anyone capable of reflection is bound to see that the
nature of greed, anger, and delusion is the buddha-nature. Beyond
greed, anger, and delusion there is no other buddha-nature. The
sutras say, "Bu as have only become buddhas while living with the
three poisons and nourishing themselves on the pure Dharma." The
three poisons are greed, anger, and delusion.
The Great Vehicle is the greatest of all vehicles. It’s the
conveyance of bodhisattvas, who use everything wit out using
anything and who travel all day without traveling. Such is the
vehicle of Buddhas.
The sutras say, "No vehicle is the vehicle of Buddhas."
Whoever realizes that the six senses aren’t real, that the five
aggregates are fictions, that no such things can be located
anywhere in the body, understands the language of Buddhas. The
sutras say, "The cave of five aggregates is the hall of Zen. The
opening of the inner eye is the door of the Great Vehicle." What
could be clearer?
Not thinking about anything is Zen. Once you know this, walking,
standing, sitting, or lying down, everything you do is Zen. To know
that the mind is empty is to see the Buddha. The Buddhas of the ten
directions" have no mind. To see no mind is to see the Buddha.
To give up yourself without regret is the greatest charity. To
transcend motion and stillness is the highest meditation. Mortals
keep moving, and Arhats stay still." But the highest meditation
surpasses both that of mortals and that of Arhats. People who reach
such understanding free themselves from all appearances without
effort and cure all illnesses without treatment. Such is the power
of great Zen.
Using the mind to look for reality is delusion. Not using the
mind to took for reality is awareness. Freeing oneself from words
is liberation. Remaining unblemished by the dust of sensation is
guarding the Dharma. Transcending life and death is leaving
home."
Not suffering another existence is reaching the Way. Not
creating delusions is enlightenment. Not engaging in ignorance is
wisdom. No affliction is nirvana. And no appearance of the mind is
the other shore.
When you’re deluded, this shore exists. When you wake tip, it
doesn’t exist. Mortals stay on this shore. But those who discover
the greatest of all vehicles stay on neither this shore nor the
other shore. They’re able to leave both shores. Those who see the
other shore as different from this shore don’t understand Zen.
Delusion means mortality. And awareness means Buddhahood.
They’re not the same. And they’re not different. It’s ‘List that
people distinguish delusion from awareness. When we’re deluded
there’s a world to escape. When we’re aware, there’s nothing to
escape.
In the light of the impartial Dharma, mortals look no different
from sages. The sutras say that the impartial Dharma is something
that mortals can’t penetrate and sages can’t practice. The
impartial Dharma is only practiced by great bodhisattvas and
Buddhas. To look on life as different from death or on motion as
different from stillness is to be partial. To be impartial means to
look on suffering as no different from nirvana,, because the nature
of both is emptiness. By
imagining they’re putting an end to Suffering and entering
nirvana Arhats end up trapped by nirvana. But bodhisattvas know
that suffering is essentially empty. And by remaining in emptiness
they remain in nirvana. Nirvana means no birth and no death. It’s
beyond birth and death and beyond nirvana. When the mind stops
moving, it enters nirvana. Nirvana is an empty mind. When delusions
dont exist, Buddhas reach nirvana. Where afflictions don’t exist,
bodhisattvas enter the place of enlightenment An uninhabited place
is one without greed, anger, or delusion. Greed is the realm of
desire, anger the realm of form, and delusion the formless realm.
When a thought begins, you enter the three realms. When a thought
ends, you leave the three realms. The beginning or end of the three
realms, the existence or nonexistence of anything, depends on the
mind. This applies to everything, even to such inanimate objects as
rocks and sticks.
Whoever knows that the mind is a fiction and devoid of anything
real knows that his own mind neither exists nor doesn’t exist.
Mortals keep creating the mind, claiming it exists. And Arhats keep
negating the mind, claiming it doesn’t exist. But bodhisattvas and
Buddhas neither create nor negate the mind. This is what’s meant by
the mind that neither exists nor doesn’t exist. The mind that
neither exists nor doesn’t exist is called the Middle Way.
If you use your mind to study reality, you won’t understand
either your mind or reality. If you study reality without using
your mind, you’ll understand both. Those who don’t understand don’t
understand understanding. And those who understand, understand not
understanding. People capable of true vision know that the mind is
empty. They transcend both understanding and not understanding. The
absence of both understanding and not understanding is true
understanding Seen with true vision, form isn’t simply form,
because form depends on mind. And mind isn’t simply mind, because
mind depends on form. Mind and form create and negate each other.
That which exists exists in relation to that which doesn’t exist.
And that which doesn’t exist doesn’t exist in relation to that
which exists. This is true vision. By means of such vision nothing
is seen and nothing is not seen. Such vision reaches throughout the
ten directions without seeing: because nothing is seen; because not
seeing is seen; because seeing isn’t seeing. What mortals see are
delusions. True vision is detached from seeing. The mind and the
world are opposites, and vision arises where they meet. When your
mind doesn’t stir inside, the world doesn’t arise outside. When the
world and the mind are both transparent, this is true vision. And
such understanding is true understanding.
To see nothing is to perceive the Way, and to understand nothing
is to know the Dharma, because seeing is neither seeing nor not
seeing and because understanding is neither understanding nor not
understanding. Seeing without seeing is true vision. Understanding
without understanding is true understanding.
True vision isn’t just seeing seeing. It’s also seeing not
seeing. And true understanding isn’t just understanding
understanding. It’s also understanding not understanding. If you
understand anything, you don’t understand. Only when you understand
nothing is it true understanding. Understanding is neither
understanding nor not understanding.
The sutras say, "Not to let go of wisdom is stupidity." When the
mind doesn’t exist, understanding and not understanding are both
true. When the mind exists, understanding and not understanding are
both false. When you understand, reality depends on you. When you
don’t understand, you depend on reality. When reality depends on
you, that which isn’t real becomes real. When you depend on
reality, that which is real becomes false. When you depend on
reality, everything is false. When reality depends on you,
everything is true. Thus, the sage doesn’t use his mind to look for
reality, or reality to look for his mind, or his mind to look for
his mind, or reality to look for reality. His mind doesn’t give
rise to reality. And reality doesn’t give rise to his mind. And
because both his mind and reality are still, he’s always in
samadhi.
When the mortal mind appears, buddhahood disappears. When the
mortal mind disappears, buddhahood appears. When the mind appears,
reality disappears. When the mind disappears, reality appears.
Whoever knows that nothing depends on anything has found the Way.
And whoever knows that the mind depends on nothing is always at the
place of enlightenment.
When you don’t understand, your wrong. When you understand, you
re not wrong. This is because the nature of wrong is empty. When
you don’t understand right seems wrong. When you understand, wrong
isn’t wrong, because wrong doesn’t exist. The sutras say, "Nothing
has a nature of its own." Act. Don’t question. When you question,
you’re wrong. Wrong is the result of questioning. When you reach
such an understanding, the wrong deeds of your past lives are wiped
away. When you’re deluded, the six senses and five shades are
constructs of suffering and mortality When you wake up, the six
senses and five shades are constructs of nirvana and
immortality.
Someone who seeks the Way doesn’t look beyond himself. He knows
that the mind is the Way. But when he finds the mind, he finds
nothing. And when he finds the Way, he finds nothing. If you think
you can use the mind to find the Way, you’re deluded. When you, re
deluded, buddhahood exists. When you’re aware, it doesn’t exist.
This is because awareness is buddhahood.
If you’re looking for the Way, the Way won’t appear until your
body’ disappears. It’s like stripping bark from a tree. This karmic
body undergoes constant change. It has no fixed reality. Practice
according to your thoughts. Don’t hate life and death or love life
and death. Keep your every thought free of delusion, and in life
you’ll witness the beg- inning of nirvana and in death you’ll
experience the assurance of no rebirth.
To see form but not be corrupted by form or to hear sound but
not to be corrupted by sound is liberation. Eyes that aren’t
attached to form are the gates of Zen. In short, those who perceive
the existence and nature of phenomena and remain unattached are
liberated. Those who perceive the external appearance of phenomena
are at their mercy. Not to be subject to afflictions is what’s
meant by liberation. There’s no other liberation. When you know how
to look at form, form doesn’t give rise to mind and mind doesn’t
give rise to form. Form and mind are both pure.
When delusions are absent, the mind is the land of Buddhas. When
delusions are present, the mind is hell. Mortals create delusions.
And by using the mind to give birth to mind they always find
themselves in hell. Bodhisattvas see through delusions. And by not
using the mind to give birth to mind they always find themselves in
the land of Buddhas. If you don’t use your mind to create mind,
every state of mind is empty and every thought is still. You go
from one buddhaland to another. If you use your mind to create
mind, every state of mind is disturbed and every thought is in
motion. You go from one hell to the next. When a thought arises,
there’s good karma and bad karma, heaven and hell. When no thought
arises, there’s no good karma or bad karma, no heaven or hell.
The body neither exists nor doesn’t exist. Hence existence as a
mortal and nonexistence as a sage are conceptions with which a sage
has nothing to do. His heart is empty and spacious as the sky. That
which follows is witnessed on the Way. It’s beyond the ken of
Arhats and mortals.
When the mind reaches nirvana, you don’t see nirvana, because
the mind is nirvana. If you see nirvana somewhere outside the mind,
you’re deluding yourself.
Every suffering is a buddha-seed, because suffering impels
mortals to seek wisdom. But you can only say that suffering gives
rise to Buddhahood. You can’t say that suffering is Buddhahood.
Your body and mind are the field. Suffering is the seed, wisdom the
sprout, and Buddhahood the grain. The Buddha in the mind is like a
fragrance in a tree. The Buddha comes from a mind free of
suffering, just as a fragrance comes from a tree free of decay.
There’s no fragrance without the tree and no Buddha without the
mind. If there’s a fragrance without a tree, it’s a different
fragrance. If there’s a Buddha without your mind, it’s a different
Buddha.
When the three poisons are present in your mind, you live in a
land of filth.
When the three poisons are absent from your mind, you live in a
land of purity.
The sutras say, "if you fill a land with impurity and filth, no
Buddha will ever appear." Impurity and filth refer to on and the
other poisons. A Buddha refers to a pure and awakened mind. There’s
no language that, isn’t the Dharma. To talk all day without saying
anything is the Way. To be silent all day and still say something
isn’t the Way. Hence neither does a Tathagata speech depend on
silence, nor does his silence depend on speech, nor does his speech
exist apart from his silence. Those who understand both speech and
silence are in samadhi. If you speak when you know, Your speech is
free. If you’re silent when you don’t know, your silence is tied.
If speech isn’t attached to appearances its free. If silence is
attached to appearances, it’s tied. Language is essentially free.
It has nothing to do with attachment. And attachment has nothing to
do with language. Reality has no high or low. If you see high or
low, It isn’t real. A raft isn’t real. But a passenger raft is. A
person who rides such a raft can cross that which isn’t real.
That’s why it’s real.
According to the world there’s male and female, rich and poor.
According to the Way there’s no male or female, no rich or poor.
When the goddess realized the Way, she didn’t change her sex. When
the stable boy" awakened to the Truth, he
didn’t change his status. Free of sex and status, they shared
the same basic appearance. The goddess searched twelve years for
her womanhood without success. To search twelve years for ones
manhood would likewise be fruitless. The twelve years refer to the
twelve entrances. Without the mind there s no Buddha. Without the
Buddha there is no mind.
Likewise, without water there’s no ice, and without ice there is
no water. Whoever talks about leaving the mind doesn’t get very
far. Don’t become attached to appearances of the mind. The sutras
say, "When you see no appearance, you see the Buddha." This is
what’s meant by being free from appearances of the mind. Without
the mind there’s no Buddha means that the-buddha comes from the
mind. The mind gives birth to the Buddha. But although the Buddha
comes from the mind, the mind doesn’t come from the Buddha, just as
fish come from water, but water doesn’t come from fish. Whoever
wants to see a fish sees the water before lie sees the fish. And
whoever wants to see a Buddha sees the mind before he sees the
Buddha. Once you’ve seen the fish, You forget about the water. And
once you’ve seen the Buddha, you forget about the mind. If you
don’t forget about the mind, the mind will confuse you, just as the
water will confuse you if you don’t forget about it.
Mortality and Buddhahood are like water and ice. To be afflicted
by the three poisons is mortality. To be purified by the three
releases" is Buddhahood. That which freezes into ice in the winter
melts into water in summer. Eliminate ice
and there’s no more water. Get rid of mortality and there’s no
more Buddhahood. Clearly, the nature of ice is the nature of water.
And the nature of water is the nature of ice. And the nature of
mortality is the nature of Buddhahood. Mortality and Buddhahood
share the same nature, just as Wutou and Futzu share the same root
but not the same season. It’s only because of the delusion of
differences that we have the words mortality and buddhahood. When a
snake becomes a dragon, it doesn’t change its scales. And when a
mortal becomes a sage, he doesn’t change his face. He knows his
mind through internal wisdom and takes care of his body through
external discipline.
Mortals liberate Buddhas and Buddhas liberate mortals. This is
what’s meant by impartiality. Mortals liberate Buddhas because
affliction creates awareness. And Buddhas liberate mortals because
awareness negates affliction. There can’t help but be affliction.
And there can’t help but be awareness. If it weren’t for
affliction, there would be nothing to create awareness. And if it
weren’t for awareness, there would be nothing to negate affliction.
When you’re deluded, Buddhas liberate mortals. When you’re aware,
mortals liberate Buddhas. Buddhas don’t become Buddhas on their
own. They’re liberated by mortals. Buddhas regard delusion as their
father and greed as their mother. Delusion and greed are different
names for mortality. Delusion and mortality are like the left hand
and the right hand. There’s no other difference.
When you’re deluded, you’re on this shore. When you’re aware,
you’re on the other shore. But once you know your mind is empty and
you see no appearances, you’re beyond delusion and awareness. And
once you’re beyond delusion and awareness, the other shore doesn’t
exist. The tathagata isn’t on this shore or the other shore. And he
isn’t in midstream. Arhats are in midstream and mortals are on this
shore. On the other shore is Buddhahood. Buddhas have three bodies:
a transformation body a reward body, and a real body. The
transformation body is also called the incarnation body. The
transformation body appears when mortals do good deeds, the reward
body when they cultivate wisdom, and the real body when they become
aware of the sublime. The transformation body is the one you see
flying in all directions rescuing others wherever it can. The
reward body puts an end to doubts. The Great Enlightenment occurred
in the Himalayas suddenly becomes true. The real body doesn’t do or
say anything. It remains perfectly still. But actually, there’s not
even one buddha-body, much less three. This talk of three bodies is
simply based on human understanding, which can be shallow,
moderate, or deep. People of shall