The vast flood
rolls onward
But yield yourself,
and it floats you
upon it.
Posts Tagged → zen
roads for entering the path
Bodhidharma taught:
There are many roads for entering the Path,
but in essence they do not go beyond two kinds: one is
entering through inner truth, and the other is
entering through
practice.
Entering through inner truth
means using the Teachings to awaken to the source.
It means deep belief that living beings both ordinary and
sage share one and the same reality-nature; it is just
because of the false covering of alien dust
that it is not manifested.
If you abandon the false and return to the real,
concentrate your attention and gaze like a wall, then there
is no self and others, and ordinary and sage are equal. Firmly abiding
and unmoving, you no longer fall into the verbal teachings. This is
tacit accord with the real inner truth: without discrimination,
it is still and nameless. This is called “entering
through inner truth.”
Entering through practice
refers to the Four Practices — all other practices
are contained within these. What are the Four Practices?
First, the practice of repaying wrongs. Second, the practice of
going along with the causal nexus. Third, the practice of
not seeking anything. Fourth, the practice of
according with the Dharma.
What is the practice of repaying wrongs?
When receiving suffering, a practitioner who cultivates
the Path should think to himself: “During countless ages past I
have abandoned the root and pursued the branches, flowing into the
various states of being, and giving rise to much rancor and hatred —
the transgression, the harm done, has been limitless. Though I do
not transgress now, this suffering is a disaster left over
from former lives — the results of evil deeds have
ripened. This suffering is not something
given by gods or humans.”
You should willingly endure the suffering
without anger or complaint. The sutra says: “Encountering
suffering, one is not concerned. Why? Because one is conscious of the
basic root.” When this attitude toward suffering is born, you are in
accord with inner truth, and even as you experience wrongs,
you advance on the Path. Thus it is called
“the practice of repaying wrongs.”
Second is the practice
of going along with the causal nexus.
Sentient beings have no selves, but are trans formed
in a manner causally linked to their deeds. They receive both
suffering and happiness — both are born from causal conditions.
If we get good rewards, glory and fame and the like, this is brought
about by past causes. We receive them now, but when the causal nexus
is ended, they will not be there — how can we rejoice? Gain and loss
follow the causal nexus: Mind is neither augmented nor
diminished. If the wind of joy at gain and sorrow at
loss does not stir, you deeply accord with the
Path. Thus it is called “the practice
of going along with the
causal nexus.”
Third, the practice of not seeking anything.
Worldly people are always deluded, craving everything,
becoming attached everywhere. This is called “seeking.” The wise
awaken to the real. Using inner truth, they reach the conventional
world. Pacifying mind without contrived activity, changing
shape as they go, the myriad states of being are thereby
emptied, and there is nothing wished
for to take joy in.
Along with this, the darkness
of “meritorious deeds” contrived based
on dualistic views is forever banished. Dwell for long
in the triple world?— it is like a house on fire. All who have bodies
suffer — who can find peace? When this is completely comprehended,
thoughts of the various states of being cease and there is no seeking.
The sutra says: “All who seek, suffer. If there is no seeking,
only then is there bliss.” Thus we know that not seeking
anything is truly
a practice of the Path.
Fourth, the practice of according
with the Dharma. The Dharma, the Teaching of Reality,
is based on the inner truth of the inherent purity of all things’
true identity. By this inner truth the multitude of forms are all empty:
there is no defilement, no attachment, no this, no that. The sutra
says: “The Dharma has no sentient beings, because it is
detached from the impurity of sen tient beings.
The Dharma has no self, because it is
de tached from the impurity
of self.”
If the wise can believe
and understand with certainty this inner truth,
they ought to practice in accord with the Dharma. The body
of the Dharma is not stingy with the physical body and life. This is
practicing giving: let there be no stinginess or holding back in the heart.
Realizing that the one receiving the gift, the giver, and the gift itself
are all empty, you don’t depend on them or get attached to them.
They are just used to get rid of impurities, and embrace
and transform sentient beings, without
grasping
at forms.
This is benefiting oneself
and also being able to benefit others,
and being able to adorn the Path of Enlightenment.
Since the perfection of giving is thus, so are the other five
(the perfection of morality, patient endurance, energetic progress,
meditation, and wisdom). To practice the six perfections to
remove false thinking, and yet to have nothing that
is practiced — this is the practice of
according with the Dharma.
Records of the Teachers and Students of the Lanka
the universe comes to you
Die
the great death,
and in the cool ashes of the
funeral pyre you will
meet what never
dies.
How is
this accomplished?
By letting go of thoughts,
sacrificing all sentiment,
abandoning emotion,
ignoring the
senses.
Solitary,
transcendent, unseeking,
absorbed in stillness and doing
non-doing, you will find that
the universe comes
to you.
You
can now buy
Wei wu Wei Ching as part of a
five-app bundle of Taoist classics
for iPhone or iPad for less than
the cost of one hardcover
book.
there is freedom at the end
There is freedom
from desire and sorrow
at the end of the way. The awakened
one is free from all fetters and goes beyond
life and death. Like a swan that rises
from the water she moves onward,
never looking back.
The one who understands
the unreality of all things, and who
has laid up no store, that one’s track is
as of birds in the air. Like a bird in the air,
she takes an invisible course, wanting
nothing, storing nothing, knowing
the emptiness of all things.
yield, accept, nourish
Bear
with things as
the earth bears with us: by
yielding, by accepting,
by nourishing.
K’un the Receptive is the complement to Qián the Creative: the dark which is illuminated by light, the earth which receives the blessings of heaven, the vessel into which nourishment flows. This is a time to follow rather than lead, to assist rather than initiate, to listen rather than talk. Redevote yourself to the cultivation of modesty, receptivity, and gentleness now, and let go of concerns about the conduct of others or the progress of your worldly ambitions.
The wisdom of cultivating receptivity cannot be overstated; receptivity is the rich earth without which the Creative cannot take root in our lives. This fundamental hexagram serves as a strong encouragement to you to concentrate on your capacities to nourish, to support, to accept, to work without desiring recognition, to follow the guidance of the Sage.
You can benefit greatly in a period like this from time spent in solitude; in quietness we have an opportunity to focus on purification of our hearts and minds. It is a good time to ask oneself, “Am I sincerely pursuing the good for its own sake, or do I have a hidden agenda?” If so, detach from it and return to the path of independence and balance. Through humility and openness we become receptive to the assistance of the Higher Power.
from The I Ching, or Book of Changes
Hexagram 2, K’un / The Receptive
ebooks & apps of the Tao the Ching, I Ching,
Hua hu Ching, Wei wu Wei Ching,
You
can now buy
the I Ching as part of a
five-app bundle of Taoist classics
for iPhone or iPad for less than
the cost of one hardcover
book.