Secrets On Cultivating Mind

This threefold world, with its irritations and afflictions, is like a flaming house; who can bear to stay here long, willfully going through endless pain? If you desire to avoid the rounds (of samsara), nothing is so good as seeking Buddhahood. If you want to seek Buddhahood, (know that) Buddha is mind. Does mind have to be sought far away? It isn't even apart from the body.

The body of form is temporary, and goes through birth and death. But, the true Mind is like empty space; never ending and changeless. So it is said, "When the body of form dies and returns to air & fire, one thing is still aware, containing the whole cosmos." Sorry to say, people today have been confused for a long time. They're not aware that their own mind is the true Buddha. They're not aware that their own essence is the true Dharma. Wanting to seek the Dharma, they ascribe it to ancient sages; wantng to seek Buddhahood, they neglect to observe the mind.

If you say that there is a Buddha outside of your own mind, and there is a Dharma outside of essence, and desire to seek the Path of Budhahood while holding on tightly to these feelings, even if you spend ages burning your body, branding your arms, breaking your bones and taking the marrow, hurting yourself and copying sutras in your own blood, sitting for long periods of time without getting up, eat only a single meal per day, or reading the whole Tripitaka and mastering different ascetic practices - it will all be like streaming sand to make rice; it only makes you tired. But, if you simply know your mind you will understand innumerable teachings and endless subtle meanings without even trying. This is why the World-Honored One said, "Observing all sentient beings, I see that they all are fully endowed with the knowledge and virtues of Buddhas." He also said, "All living beings, and all sorts of illusionary events are all born in the completely awake and subtle mind of those who realize Suchness." Thus we know that there is no Buddhahood separate from this mind. The Awakened Ones of the past were simply people who understood the mind, and the sages & saints of the present are people who cultivate mind; students of the future should rely on this principle. People who practice the Path should not search outside themselves. Mind-Essence has no defilement; originaly it is complete and perfect in itself. Simply detach from illusory objects and it is enlightened to Suchness as it is.

Q: If Buddha-nature is in our bodies at this moment, it is not separate from regular folk either. Then why don't we see this Buddha-nature at this moment?

A: It's in your body, but you don't see it yourself. At all times you know when you're hungry or thirsty, cold or hot; at times you're upset and at times you're happy - ultimately, what's doing all this? The body of form is made out of the four elements of earth, water, air and fire. They are insentient; how can they know or see? That which can know and see must be your Buddha-nature. This is why Lin-Chi said, "The four elements can't teach the Dharma of hear the Dharma. Space can't teach the Dharma of hear the Dharma. Only the lone light clearly in front of you, which is formless, can teach the Dharma and hear the Dharma."

What he called 'formless' is the seal of the truth of all Buddhas, and it's your original mind. The Buddha-nature is in your body at this very moment; why seek outside for it? If you don't believe me, let me quote some stories of how ancient sages entered the Path, so that you can make clear your doubt. You should believe with clear understanding of truth.

In Old Times, a king asked a Buddhist saint, "What's Buddhahood?"

The saint said, "To see the Essence is Buddhahood."

The king then asked, "Do you see the Essence?"

The saint replied, "I see the Essence of Enlightenment."

The king asked, "Where is Essence?"

The saint replied, "Essence is in Function."

The king then asked, "Why kind of Function is it if it's not visible now?"

The saint replied, "It's Functioning right now; only you can't see it."

The king then asked, "Is it in me?"

The saint said, "Anytime you do something, that's it. When you're not doing anything, the Essence is hard to see."

The king then asked, "When it's Functioning, how many places does it appear?"

The saint said, "When it appears, there must be eight places."

The king said, "Please tell me these eight places where it appears."

The saint then said, "In the womb, it's called the body. In the state, it's called a person. In the eyes, it's called seeing. In the ears, it's called hearing. In the nose, it tells the difference between smells. In the tongue, it talks. In the hands, it grabs and clings. In the feet, it walks and runs. It appears all over, containing all things; innumerable worlds are collected in one atom. People who can see know that this is Buddha-nature, the Essence of Enlightenment. Those who don't call it a 'soul'." When the king heard that, he opened up and understood.

Also, a monk asked Master Guizong, "What's a Buddha?"

Guizong said, "If I told you, you won't believe me."

The monk said, "If you speak the truth, how could I not believe?"

Guizong then replied, "You're it."

The monk asked, "How can I preserve it?"

Guizong said, "Where there is a single obstacle in the eye, there is a shower of flowers in the sky?"

The monk attained insight when he heard that. These stories I have told about the situations where the ancient sages entered the Path are clear and to the point. They really do save enerfy. If you gain true understanding with these stories, then you'll walk hand in hand with the ancient sages.

By Son (Zen) Master Chinul

Non-Attachment

Kitano Gempo, abbot of Eihei temple, was ninety-two years old when he passed away in the year 1933. He endeavored his whole like not to be attached to anything. As a wandering mendicant when he was twenty he happened to meet a traveler who smoked tobacco. As they walked together down a mountain road, they stopped under a tree to rest. The traveler offered Kitano a smoke, which he accepted, as he was very hungry at the time.

"How pleasant this smoking is," he commented. The other gave him an extra pipe and tobacco and they parted.

Kitano felt: "Such pleasant things may disturb meditation. Before this goes too far, I will stop now." So he threw the smoking outfit away.

When he was twenty-three years old he studied I-King, the profoundest doctrine of the universe. It was winter at the time and he needed some heavy clothes. He wrote his teacher, who lived a hundred miles away, telling him of his need, and gave the letter to a traveler to deliver. Almost the whole winter passed and neither answer nor clothes arrived. So Kitano resorted to the prescience of I-King, which also teaches the art of divination, to determine whether or not his letter had miscarried. He found that this had been the case. A letter afterwards from his teacher made no mention of clothes.

"If I perform such accurate determinative work with I-King, I may neglect my meditation," felt Kitano. So he gave up this marvelous teaching and never resorted to its powers again.

When he was twenty-eight he studied Chinese calligraphy and poetry. He grew so skillful in these arts that his teacher praised him. Kitano mused: "If I don't stop now, I'll be a poet, not a Zen teacher." So he never wrote another poem.

COMING HOME

This is timeless, deathless, eternal. 

This is without equal, this is never-to-be-repeated, this is utterly unique and totally new, in each and every moment, although there are no “moments” at all. 

This is empty of all qualities, even the quality of being empty of all qualities. And yet, this is totally full, pregnant with infinite possibility, possibility that overflows again and again into a world. 

This is peace, but it is a volcanic peace, a peace which does not deny noise but embraces it fully, a peace which does not rest, an ecstatic peace that throws itself out of itself now, now and now. 

This is completely unknowable, and yet it is filled with the knowledge of things, filled with an apparent world "out there", in its infinite guises. 

This is something that cannot be spoken of by anyone, and yet words are thrown out, day after day after day. 

This is not of this world, and yet it is nothing but this world. 

This is completely extraordinary, and yet it is as simple and as obvious as the sound of the rain splish-splashing on your rooftop. 

Splish! Splash! 

This is a wide open space, with enough room for an entire world, pulsating with a radical and unconditional love that will never be grasped by a mind locked in the search for something more. 

This is simple, obvious, ordinary. 

This is what everybody is seeking, but nobody can find. 

And nobody can find this precisely because the one who searches for this is exactly that which apparently obscures this (although this can never be obscured, because it already includes any idea of a somebody who would want something more). 

This is Jesus dying on the cross. 

This is the Buddha seeing through all confusion. 

This is the world falling away when two lovers embrace. 

This is a mother cradling her newborn child. 

This is watching an old man waddling down the pavement, and seeing only yourself. 

This is your heart breaking at the sight of an old woman, her shopping bags full of groceries, struggling to cross a busy road, and finding yourself, without hesitation, rushing over to help her, because you have no choice, and you never did have any choice. 

And this is realising, at long last, that choice is illusion, that you were never for one moment separate from this thing we call “life”, that we were never for one moment separate from each other; that no man is an island, that we affect each other in more profound ways than the mind could ever hope to grasp.

And yet, there are no others, and "you" cannot realise a damn thing. 

By Jeff Foster

JUST A THOUGHT

This has nothing to do with effort. 

This has nothing to do with understanding. 

Nothing to do with process, nothing to do with praxis. 

Nothing to do with lack of process or praxis. 

This is not about seeing anything new, or getting rid of anything old. 

This is not something the mind could ever grasp. Nor does the mind need to give up its grasping. 

This is nothing personal, nor does it have anything to do with the "impersonal". 

This is not about choiceless awareness, or seeing through the ego, or self-enquiry. 

This cannot be expressed using concepts. Nor will it ever be expressed in the absence of concepts. 

This is not about words. Not even these words. 

This is not about getting anywhere. 

This has nothing to do with any kind of future achievement. 

This is not about following a path: there is no path, although there may be the idea of "a path". 

This is not about reaching a higher state: there are no higher states, although there may be concepts about "higher states". 

This is not about becoming anything, although beliefs about that may arise too. 

This is certainly not about "putting an end to the I". Only an "I" would want that. 

This is most definitely not about "becoming more present" - the present was never lost in the first place. 

This is not about waiting for an event called liberation - that would require time, and a "me" who would eventually become liberated. 

This has nothing to do with going "beyond" anything - there is nothing to go beyond, and nobody who could go beyond even if they wanted to. 

This is not about enlightenment. There is no such thing as enlightenment. 

This is not about awakening. There is no such thing as awakening. 

This is not about enlightened individuals passing on their understanding. That's a good story, and a compelling one, but it's just a story, and has no deeper reality. 

This is not something that could be of any use to anyone. 

This is not something that anyone would ever want. 

But no matter - the "me" who would want this is just a thought anyway. 

Just a thought. By Jeff Foster

The Heart Sutra-Great Real Wisdom Sutra.

The Heart Sutra

The Heart Sutra is the main sutra in Zen Buddhism. It's a very short sutra that contains the essence of the Buddha's teaching in around 300 words. It's a popular sutra in Japan, even among people who aren't particularly interested in Buddhism. Its full name is the “Heart Sutra of Prajna” or the “Heart of Great Real Wisdom Sutra”, because it contains the heart of a much longer sutra called the Great Real Wisdom Sutra. The theme of the Heart Sutra is something called “prajna”. Prajna is an old Sanskrit word. It's made up of two parts. The first part "pra" means "before", and the second part "jna" means "knowing". So prajna literally means "before knowing". Prajna is often translated as "real wisdom" or "intuition". In a lot of translations it's just left as “prajna”. Buddhism considers prajna to be more important than intellectual ability or intellectual understanding. It’s possible to improve our intellectual understanding by reading books and accumulating knowledge, but with prajna the situation is a little different – we can’t really develop it by reading books or accumulating knowledge. It’s not even something we can call upon when we need it. Prajna is something that happens all by itself, without us having any control over it at all. It’s completely natural. It’s the universe happening through us.

Buddhists believe that we can develop prajna by practicing the sitting meditation known as zazen. When we practice zazen our mind and body naturally become balanced. When our mind and body are balanced prajna happens very subtly and naturally, without us even noticing. Afterwards, when we look back, we may notice and say “Oh, that was a coincidence” or “that was a bit strange”, but that’s usually as close as we can get. But when that happens many times, we can start to get a picture of what prajna is. We can notice prajna for ourselves. But each time we do, it’s already gone. Below is a translation I made of the Japanese version of the Heart Sutra, which is called “Hannya Shingyo” in Japan.

The Heart Sutra

Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva,

when deeply practicing prajna‐paramita,

clearly saw that the five skandas are all empty,

and was saved from all suffering and distress.

Sariputra,

form is no different to emptiness,

emptiness no different to form.

That which is form is emptiness,

that which is emptiness, form.

Sensations, perceptions, impressions, and consciousness

are also like this.

Sariputra,

all things and phenomena are marked by emptiness;

they are neither appearing nor disappearing,

neither impure nor pure,

neither increasing nor decreasing.

Therefore, in emptiness,

no forms, no sensations, perceptions, impressions, or consciousness;

no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind;

no sights, sounds, odors, tastes, objects of touch, objects of mind;

no realm of sight up to no realm of consciousness;

no ignorance and no end of ignorance,

up to no aging and death,

and no end of aging and death;

no suffering, accumulation, cessation, or path;

no wisdom and no attainment.

With nothing to attain,

bodhisattvas

rely on prajna‐paramita,

and their minds are without hindrance.

They are without hindrance,

and thus without fear.

Far apart from all confused dreams,

they dwell in nirvana.

All buddhas of the past, present and future

rely on prajna‐paramita,

and attain anuttara‐samyak‐sambodhi.

Therefore, know that prajna‐paramita

is the great transcendent mantra,

the great bright mantra,

the supreme mantra,

the unequalled balanced mantra,

that can eliminate all suffering,

and is real, not false.

So proclaim the prajna‐paramita mantra,

proclaim the mantra that says:

gate, gate,

paragate,

parasamgate,

bodhi, svaha!

The Heart Sutra of Prajna.

Translated by Peter Rocca