Our original nature is neither good or bad, good or bad are
produced/productions from mind. Then what is mind? What is the
original mind/original face before birth?
Hui Neng said, "Since the object of your coming is the Dharma,
refrain from thinking of anything and keep your mind empty. I will
then teach you." They meditated together for a considerable time,
then Hui Neng asked Hui Ming, "When you are thinking of neither
good nor evil, at this particular moment, what is your original
nature (Buddha Nature)?" As soon as Hui Ming heard this, he
instantly became enlightened.
The mind is the root from which all things grow if you can
understand the mind, everything else is included. It’s like the
root of a tree. All a tree’s fruit and flowers, branches and leaves
depend on its root. If you nourish its root, a tree multiplies. If
you cut its root, it dies. Those who understand the mind reach
enlightenment with minimal effort. Those who don’t understand the
mind practice in vain. Everything good and bad comes from your own
mind. To find something beyond the mind is impossible.
~ 1st Ch'an/Zen Patriarch, Bodhidharma
Don't investigate the root of things,
Investigate the root of Mind!
Once the mind's root has been found,
You'll know one thing, yet all is thereby freed
But if the root of Mind you fail to find,
You will know everything but nothing understand.
~ Guru Padmasambhava
Let thoughts go free, just like a dove released from a ship
in the middle of the infinite ocean.
For just as the bird finds nowhere to land
but back on the ship, thoughts have no place to go
other than returning to their place of origin.
~ Maitripa