Fwd: Daily zen journal

[Guest guest]

-->

 

>

>The Zen Teaching of Huang Po on the Transmission of Mind

>

> - exerpted from translation by John Blofeld (1958)

>

> Regarding this Zen Doctrine of ours, since it was first

> transmitted, it has never taught that people should seek for

> learning or form concepts. "Studying the Way" is just a figure of

> speech. It is a method arousing people's interest in the early

> stages of their development. In fact, the Way is not something

> which can be studied. Study leads to the retention of concepts

> and so the Way is entirely misunderstood. Moreover, the Way is

> not something specially existing; it is called the Mahayana Mind

> - Mind which is not to be found inside, outside or in the middle.

> Truly it is not located anywhere.

>

> The first step is to refrain from knowledge-based concepts. This

> implies that if you were to follow the empirical method to the

> utmost limit, on reaching that limit you would still be unable to

> locate Mind. The Way is spiritual Truth and was originally without

> name or title. It was only because people ignorantly sought for

> it empirically that the Buddhas appeared and taught them to

> eradicate this method of approach. Fearing that nobody would

> understand, they selected the name "Way."

>

> You must not allow this name to lead you into forming a mental

> concept of a road. So it is said "When the fish is caught we pay

> no more attention to the trap." When body and mind achieve

> spontaneity, the Way is reached and Mind is understood. A

> sramana is so called because he has penetrated to the original

> source of all things. The fruit of attaining the sramana stage is

> gained by putting an end to all anxiety; it does not come from

> book-learning.

>

> If you now set about using your minds to seek Mind, listening

> to the teaching of others, and hoping to reach the goal through

> mere learning, when will you ever succeed? Some of the

> ancients had sharp minds; they no sooner heard the Doctrine

> proclaimed than they hastened to discard all learning. So they

> were called, "Sages who, abandoning learning, have come to

> rest in spontaneity."

>

> In these days people only seek to stuff themselves with

> knowledge and deductions, seeking everywhere for

> book-knowledge and calling this "Dharma-practice." They do not

> know that so much knowledge and deduction have just the

> contrary effect of piling up obstacles. Merely acquiring a lot of

> knowledge makes you like a child who gives himself indigestion

> by gobbling too many curds.

>

> Those who study the Way according to the Three Vehicles are all

> like this. All you can call them is people who suffer from

> indigestion. When so-called knowledge and deductions are not

> digested, they become poisons, for they belong only to the

> plane of samsara. In the Absolute, there is nothing at all of this

> kind.

>

> So it is said: "In the armory of my sovereign, there is no Sword

> of Thusness." All the concepts you have formed in the past

> must be discarded and replaced by void. The canonical

> teachings of the Three Vehicles are just remedies for temporary

> needs. They were taught to meet such needs and so are of

> temporary value and differ one from another. If only this could

> be understood, there would be no more doubts about it.

>

> Above all it is essential not to select some particular teaching

> suited to a certain occasion, and, being impressed by its

> forming part of the written canon, regard it as an immutable

> concept. Why so? Because in truth there is no unalterable

> Dharma which the Tathagata could have preached. People of

> our sect would never argue that there could be such a thing. We

> just know how to put all mental activity to rest and thus achieve

> tranquility. We certainly do not begin by thinking things out and

> end up in perplexity.

Question: From all you have just said, Mind is the Buddha; but

> it is not clear as to what sort of mind is meant by this "Mind

> which is the Buddha." Is the Buddha the ordinary mind or the

> Enlightened mind?

>

> Answer: In the teaching of the Three

> Vehicles it is clearly explained that the

> ordinary and Enlightened minds are

> illusions. You don't understand. All this

> clinging to the idea of things existing is

> to mistake clarity for the truth. How can

> such conceptions not be illusory? Being

> illusory, they hide Mind from you. If you

> would only rid yourselves of the concepts

> of ordinary and Enlightened, you would

> find that there is no other Buddha than

> the Buddha in your own Mind.

>

> When Bodhidharma came from the West, he just pointed out

> that the substance of which all people are composed is the

> Buddha. You people go on misunderstanding; you hold to

> concepts such as "ordinary" and "Enlightened," directing your

> thoughts outwards where they gallop about like horses! All this

> amounts to beclouding your own minds! So I tell you Mind is the

> Buddha. As soon as thought or sensation arises, you fall into

> dualism.

>

> Beginningless time and the present moment are the same.

> There is no this and no that. To understand this truth is called

> complete and unexcelled Enlightenment.

>

> - Excerpted from The Zen Teaching of Huang Po on the

> Transmission of Mind

> John Blofeld (1958)

>

> Top of Page

>

>

> When I first started practice my teacher had me stop reading

> books on Buddhism. While it does serve to arouse the interest,

> if we're not careful, we get caught by the concepts and

> distracted by a kind of head knowledge which is never

> satisfactory in the deepest sense. We easily confuse

> understanding the words and ideas with true understanding, and

> we never go far enough in our own questioning. More

> importantly we wind up collecting understandings without any

> practical experience of the teaching which leads to a superficial

> kind of practice.

>

> So, how do we "understand" and then "practice" what Huang Po

> is telling us in the above? Here's a passage that might shed

> some light...

>

>

> Buddhist trainees should first determine whether or not their

> practice is headed toward the Way. Shakyamuni, who was able

> to harmonize and control his body, speech, and mind, sat

> beneath a bo tree doing zazen. To be headed toward the Way

> is to know its appearance and how far it extends. The Way lies

> under the foot of every person. When you become one with the

> Way you find that it is right where you are, thus realizing perfect

> enlightenment. If, however, you take pride in your

> enlightenment, even though it be very deep, it will be no more

> than partial enlightenment.

>

> To study the Way is to try to become one with it - to forget even

> a trace of enlightenment. Those who would practice the Way

> should first of all believe in it. Those who believe in the Way

> should believe that they have been in the Way from the very

> beginning, subject to neither delusion, illusive thoughts, and

> confused ideas nor increase, decrease, and mistaken

> understanding. Engendering belief like this, clarify the Way and

> practice it accordingly - this is the essence of studying the Way.

>

> The second method of Buddhist training is to cut off the

> function of discriminating consciousness and turn away from the

> road of intellectual understanding. This is the manner in which

> novices should be guided. Thereafter they will be able to let

> body and mind fall away, freeing themselves from the dualistic

> ideas of delusion and enlightenment.

>

> If only you believe that you are truly in the Way, you will

> naturally be able to understand how it functions, as well as the

> true meaning of delusion and enlightenment.

>

> - Taken from Zen Master Dogen; An Introduction with Selected

> Writings

> by Yuho Yokoi (1976)

 

May all be Auspicious,

xxxxxxx