Forget the words and embody
It has no bridge,
yet the cloud climbs up
to heaven; it does not seek
the aid of Gautama’s
sutras.
The way
to enlightenment
is through emptiness.
Quiet the senses,
forget the body, abandon
concepts and control and contention.
Transform the mind into a pile of cool
ashes, and then do non-doing until
stillness permeates inside
and out.
In this
way you can be
illuminated by the clarity
and silence of the
Oneness.
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Emperor Wu
of Liang asked Bodhidharma,
“I have built temples and had monks
ordained without number: what merit is there
in this?” Bodhidharma said, “There is no merit.”
The emperor said, “Why no merit?” Bodhidharma
said, “These are just the lesser fruits of gods
and men, causes of defilement: like
shadows following shapes,
though they’re there,
they’re not
real.”
The Emperor
said, “What is true merit?”
Bodhidharma answered, “The subtle
perfection of pure wisdom, its essence naturally
empty and still. Such merit is not to be sought with worldly
means.” Only then did the Emperor ask, “What is the
highest meaning of the holy truths?” Bodhidharma
answered, “Empty, without holiness.”
The Emperor said, “Who is facing
me?” Bodhidharma replied,
The Emperor
did not understand, so
Bodhidharma crossed the river
into Wei. If you want to see real merit
right now, don’t look for it anywhere else,
just comprehend it in “I don’t know”.
If you can penetrate those three
words, the task of your whole
life’s study will be
completed.
Between their births
and their deaths, three out of ten
are attached to life, three out of ten are
attached to death, three out of ten are just
idly passing through. Only one knows
how to die and stay dead and
still go on living.
That one
hasn’t any ambitions,
hasn’t any ideas, makes no plans.
From this mysterious place of not-knowing
and non-doing he gives birth to whatever is needed
in the moment. Because he is constantly filling his being
with nonbeing, he can travel the wilds without
worrying about tigers or wild buffalo,
or he can cross a battlefield
without armor or
weapon.
No tiger can claw him.
No buffalo can gore him.
No weapon can pierce him.
Why is this so?
Because he has died, there
isn’t any more room for
death in him.
from The Tao te Ching of Lao Tzu,
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