Tuesday, 27 June 2017

Hey Mods, stop removing my posts. They are zen and I'm a genuine student of zen.

Seriously, I'm not trying to scam anyone. I'm trying to discuss and question, so leave it be.

Now to jerk off the mods:

Seng-ch'ou (480-560) was a very prominent Buddhist teacher who lived during the time of the Second Patriarch. Zen Masters, particularly after Hui-neng, mention his teachings. What Seng-ch'ou meant by dhyana can be compared with Hui-neng's use of the word, and provides some perspective on the different menings of dhyana at the time.

D.T. Suzuki wrote a book called The Zen Doctrine of No Mind which examines Hui-neng's use of the word dhyana.

This excerpt, taken from the Tun Huang texts, is thought by scholar Jin Yun-hua to belong to Seng-ch'ou's teachings.

Q: What is called dhyana?

A: Dhyana is concentration.

Q: When dhyana is called concentration, does it mean the concentration of mind or body?

A: Sitting cross-legged concentrates the body, mental controlling concentrates the mind.

Q: The mind is formless, how can it be looked upon and be controlled?

A: It is like wind having no form itself; one can determine it through the wavering of things [blown by the wind]. Likewise, the mind is formless, but it is immediately knowable when it contacts things. When the mind is controlled and ceases contact, it is called concentration.

Q: Five Stops on 18 realms are called concentration. When the eyes see material objects the mind experience mental objects, how can this be called concentration?

A: The mind arises when objects are seen, and things waver when the wind blows. When the wind stops, objects will be peaceful; and when objects vanish, the mind will rest. When the mind and objects are all vanished, concentration and peace will be achieved spontaneously.

This passage was taken from a book of essays called Early Ch'an in China and Tibet.



Submitted June 28, 2017 at 06:01AM by already_satisfied http://ift.tt/2sfCA0G

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