One must practice the very essence of contemplation of the Buddha

This is from the Kuan-hsin lun 觀心論, by Ch’an master Shen-hsiu 神秀 (605-706):

Question: What about the scriptural teaching that if you wholeheartedly contemplate Buddha you are certain to attain liberation?

Answer: When it comes to contemplation of the Buddha, you must make correct contemplation into your rule and not understand it falsely. Correct contemplation will certainly yield rebirth in the Pure Land, but how could false contemplation lead one there? “Buddha” means “awakening.” This means to awaken and penetrate the source of mind and not allow evil to arise. “Contemplation” means “reflect upon.” This is to firmly maintain the practice of morality and not to forget to diligently seek to understand the Tathagata’s teaching. This is called “correct contemplation.” Therefore understand that contemplation resides in the mind, not in words. You use a fish trap to catch fish, and when you have the fish you can forget about the trap. You use words to get at the meaning, and when you have grasped the meaning you can forget about the words. To praise contemplation of the Buddha is to say that one must practice the very essence of contemplation of the Buddha. If the mind is not true, one’s utterances will be empty and one’s contemplation will be wasted effort.

Submitted July 04, 2017 at 03:05AM by Dillon123 http://ift.tt/2szRajR