Some critical issues in Zen Buddhism

[exorcist_1699]

There are some issues , or predicaments that , by brooding on them , by solving them , our mind can be freed and be led to the so-called Enlightenment, ie, a Mind that can leave and return our body freely , a Mind that can detach from our daily consciousness and turn back to observe it freely ; as a master says: " Detachment is the Way".

("離即是道")

 

Here they are:

 

 

1) The somewhere and nowhere issue :

 

In the Diamond Sutra , one of the main Sutra that the Zen Buddhism relies on , you find the most famous saying : " Breed a great Mind by paying attention to nowhere " ; it sounds wonderful , but how ? I think the difficulty of it is whenever we try to do so , we already unconsciously put our mind at somewhere , let it entangled by something , making any trial doomed to failure .

 

2) The Non- dual issue:

 

The Chinese Zen's Sixth Patriarch once asked : " When you neither think of good nor evil, past nor future, outside nor inside... what status of a mind you are in ? " Which , of course, is a question tries to bring us to some kind spiritual breakthrough..

 

However, even capable of so doing and lengthening that interval, that rupture , there is still no guarantee that we not fall into a lengthened , unproductive dullness ; a persistent placid mind is nothing close to the Buddha Heart.

 

 

3) The situation and heart issue:

 

It is said that our heart is always entangled by our senses , anxiety and misfortunes in life that makes the emergence of a Buddha Heart impossible. In order to emancipate us from those obstables , people think of 3 possible ways:

 

~ We do our best to get rid of those external obstacles and problems so that they no longer exist to puzzle us.

 

~ We strengthen our spirit so that even objective difficulties and hardships uneradicable , they do not hurt and obsctruct us so much .

 

~ We eliminate that mind which we think of as real, that mind we are so assured as having the sufferings, being entangled : if there is no mind at all , how can anxieties and sufferings attaching to it? If that illusory mind is nullified, and something much real and great arises, what perceptions and emotions still leave behind to puzzle us ?

 

Of course, the final one is the Zen's way; It is said that foolish people always try to eliminate those factors and situations that are thought as causing their sufferings , only do the sages recognize that what should be eliminated are their pseudo minds.

Edited March 23, 2012 by exorcist_1699

[XieJia]

mindful whole-hearty

 

 

about

 

each moment

after

each moment

 

no matter what

 

issues comes up

all will

 

take care of itself

in due time.

 

 

[林愛偉]

:-)

 

The interdependence of all things: Equanimity.

 

Neither stopping the mind, nor stilling the thoughts.

Neither entertaining our mind and producing more thoughts.

Neither eradicating thoughts, and shattering the mind.

Neither finding the neither and the nor in any of "our".

 

Stilling the mind through concentrating on one thought, just to build up

concentration ability/strength. Everything else, during the process, are as though

they never were there. Not needing our attention, they neither increase, nor diminish.

 

 

 

There are some issues , or predicaments that , by brooding on them , by solving them , our mind can be freed and be led to the so-called Enlightenment, ie, a Mind that can leave and return our body freely , a Mind that can detach from our daily consciousness and turn back to observe it freely ; as a master says: " Detachment is the Way".

("離即是道")

 

Here they are:

 

 

1) The somewhere and nowhere issue :

 

In the Diamond Sutra , one of the main literature that the Zen Buddhism relies on , you find a most famous saying : " Breed a great Mind by paying attention to nowhere " ; it sounds wonderful , but how ? I think the difficulty of it is whenever we try to do so , we already unconsciously put our mind at somewhere , make it entangled by something , so any trial for most people is doomed to failure .

 

2) The Non- dual issue:

 

The Chinese Zen's Sixth Patriarch once asked : " When you neither think of good nor evil, past nor future, outside nor inside... what status of a mind you are in ? " Which , of course, is a question tries to bring us to some kind spiritual breakthrough..

 

However, even capable of so doing and lengthening that interval, that rupture , there is still no guarantee that we not fall into a lengthened , unproductive dullness ; a persistent placid mind is nothing close to the Buddha Heart.

 

 

3) The situation and heart issue:

 

It is said that our heart is always entangled by our senses , anxiety and misfortunes in life that makes the emergence of a Buddha Heart impossible. In order to emancipate us from those obstables , people think of 3 possible ways:

 

~ We do our best to get rid of those external obstacles and problems so that they no longer exist to puzzle us.

 

~ We strengthen our spirit so that even objective difficulties and hardships uneradicable , they do not hurt and obsctruct us so much .

 

~ We eliminate that mind which we think of as real, that mind we are so assured as having the sufferings, being entangled : if there is no mind at all , how can anxieties and sufferings attaching to it? If that illusory mind is nullified, and something much real and great arises, what perceptions and emotions still leave behind to puzzle us ?

 

Of course, the final one is the Zen's way; It is said that foolish people always try to eliminate those factors and situations that are thought as causing their sufferings , only do the sages recognize that what should be eliminated are their pseudo minds.

[styrofoamdog]

No matter who you ask in this forum, someone will have a different explanation of it, but that someone probably does not have the same insight as the Buddha in the Diamond Sutra. Originally the monks in India and other countries would recite the sutras frequently as a form of cultivation. If someone reads a sutra like this regularly, then it is pretty similar, as long as the process is continuous. If you want to know how to develop what the Buddha is talking about in the Diamond Sutra, well, that's the basic purpose of that sutra itself: to teach Subhuti how to develop the mind of unsurpassed and complete enlightenment. If you try to find a "Cliff Notes" version or a summary written by someone else, then that's not the same thing as studying the sutra directly.

 

Subhūti, bodhisattvas should depart from all characteristics in order to develop the mind of Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi. They should produce a mind that does not dwell in form. They should produce a mind that does not dwell in sounds, scents, tastes, sensations, or dharmas. They should produce a mind that does not dwell in any place. In anything that dwells in the mind, one should not dwell ...

 

It doesn't say that one shouldn't produce a mind that is not aware of anything. It just says that the mind should not dwell in anything. All day long thoughts and images arise in the mind. Some seem to exist there for only a split second, while others seem to hang over us or obstruct mental clarity. No matter what, though, these are basically illusory and transient. This is the same principle of non-abiding that runs through the whole sutra. Actually, this is the basic method prescribed in nearly all the old Mahayana sutras: non-abiding.

Edited May 2, 2012 by styrofoamdog

[Wayfarer]

Hi Exorcist - you have had great responses here already I hope the comments I have made in bold below add to them.

 

There are some issues , or predicaments that , by brooding on them , by solving them , our mind can be freed and be led to the so-called Enlightenment, ie, a Mind that can leave and return our body freely , a Mind that can detach from our daily consciousness and turn back to observe it freely ; as a master says: " Detachment is the Way".

("離即是道")

 

Here they are:

 

 

1) The somewhere and nowhere issue :

 

In the Diamond Sutra , one of the main Sutra that the Zen Buddhism relies on , you find the most famous saying : " Breed a great Mind by paying attention to nowhere " ; it sounds wonderful , but how ? I think the difficulty of it is whenever we try to do so , we already unconsciously put our mind at somewhere , let it entangled by something , making any trial doomed to failure .

 

This is true enough so perhaps we should not try to do anything then how can we become entangled? Someone may counter, well how can we then Breed a great Mind that pays attention to nowhere? We have that Mind already; it is our lack of knowing it that we pay attention to somewhere. Here or there is Mind when in fact there is no Mind.

 

2) The Non- dual issue:

 

The Chinese Zen's Sixth Patriarch once asked : " When you neither think of good nor evil, past nor future, outside nor inside... what status of a mind you are in ? " Which , of course, is a question tries to bring us to some kind spiritual breakthrough..

 

However, even capable of so doing and lengthening that interval, that rupture , there is still no guarantee that we not fall into a lengthened , unproductive dullness ; a persistent placid mind is nothing close to the Buddha Heart. Dullness or vitality, a persistant placid mind or not is Buddha-Heart - if there is only oneness and that oneness is Buddha-heart and therefore there is no-self what is other-than-self?

3) The situation and heart issue:

 

It is said that our heart is always entangled by our senses , anxiety and misfortunes in life that makes the emergence of a Buddha Heart impossible. In order to emancipate us from those obstables , people think of 3 possible ways:

 

~ We do our best to get rid of those external obstacles and problems so that they no longer exist to puzzle us. The external obstacles are not different than the internal peace we crave.

 

~ We strengthen our spirit so that even objective difficulties and hardships uneradicable , they do not hurt and obsctruct us so much . When we know what is spirit we know no difficulty or hardship - hence a Buddha ends suffering. What we think of as Sacred is not different than what we consider hardship.

 

~ We eliminate that mind which we think of as real, that mind we are so assured as having the sufferings, being entangled : if there is no mind at all , how can anxieties and sufferings attaching to it? If that illusory mind is nullified, and something much real and great arises, what perceptions and emotions still leave behind to puzzle us ? The mind we think of as real and the one that creates our ideas of suffering are the same holy mind. What creates our entanglement is when unawakened we live in a way that lacks awareness of our Buddha-Heart. The Buddha-Heart is everywhere - it is not different than Christ or Tao or the Great Spirit. There is nothing we can point to that is not Buddha-Heart for what points and what is pointed to are a single holiness. When we notice this in what we traditionally call within and around us our anxieties and suffering ceases because in realising there is only One, it forces us to realise nothing changes. The only constant is that nothing changes. Here lies our peace.

 

Of course, the final one is the Zen's way; It is said that foolish people always try to eliminate those factors and situations that are thought as causing their sufferings , only do the sages recognize that what should be eliminated are their pseudo minds.

Edited May 26, 2012 by Wayfarer

[exorcist_1699]

Hi Exorcist - you have had great responses here already I hope the comments I have made in bold below add to them.

 

 

Hi, Wayfarer, thanks the ideas you added here.