The objective of Chan

The objective of Ch'an practice is to illuminate the mind by eradicating its impurities and seeing into one's true self-nature. The mind's impurities are wrong thoughts and attachments. Self-nature is the wisdom and virtue of the Tathagata. The wisdom and virtue of Buddhas and sentient beings are not different from one another. To experience this wisdom and virtue, leave, leave behind duality, discrimination, wrong thinking and attachment. This is Buddhahood. If one cannot do this, then one remains an ordinary sentient being. — Xuyun 虛雲

To distinguish the pure Mind, which is naturally undefiled, from the defiled mind of our thoughts which constantly obscures pure Mind is the real objective of Zen practice. Since the time of our birth we have only known the defiled mind. We even use this mind to practice Zen thinking that it will lead us to the pure Mind or the same, Buddha-nature.
It is not next to impossible to accomplish this, but it is not insignificant and all that easy either. We have only to stop the defiled mind of our thoughts, then in time of a finger snap, the luminous pure Mind suddenly appears; it covers us from head to foot according to the Buddha. Yes, it is a real experience. This is the commencement of the Bodhisattva's path (bhumi).

Submitted December 24, 2017 at 09:10PM by Dhammakayaram http://ift.tt/2D7Ia6i