About Practice

The Lankavatara Sutra's themes are pretty simple so long as you can wade through it. To follow is one of the major themes, with the Zen Masters as comparison, and some of my own thought.

I have used both RP's and Suzuki's translations. Please do a big boy google of the basics of the Sutra as I will not be providing an overview.

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Why not start in the first paragraph of this dense Sutra

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“Understood the significance of the ‘objective world of their own mind’

-Suzuki

“Skilled in the knowledge that external objects are perceptions of one’s own mind”

-Red Pine

To see one’s mind, but also *understand the significance of”, or “skilled in the knowledge that”

-TFnarcon9

Important: ‘The fact of’ is a supporting fundamental to "understanding the ‘significance of".

If I were to stretch out a clarification of the word 'significance' here I would say ‘the weight of the fact due to its implication(s)’

So: ...understand the weight of one’s own mind because of the implications of.

This is not a comment really on the realization of one's mind, or of mind, or objective world, but of knowing the implications and understanding the weight of.

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So what is the implication, weight, knowledge, significance etc?

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I’ll quote a very important passage from the Lanka that isn’t too far from our starting quote:

Immediately after The Lord of Lanka had a realization about his own mind (formatting mine):

"he was:

• settled in the realm of non-discrimination,

• was urged by the stock of his past good deeds,

• acquired the cleverness of understanding all the texts,

• obtained the faculty of seeing things as they are,

• was no more dependent upon others,

• observed things excellently with his own Wisdom buddhi,

• gained the insight that was not of discursive reasoning,

• was no more dependent upon others, became a great Yogin of the discipline,

• was able to manifest himself in all excellent forms,

• got thoroughly acquainted with all skillful means,

• had the knowledge of the characteristic aspects of every stage, by which he would surmount it skilfully,

• was delighted to look into the self-nature of Citta, Manas, Manovijnana,

• got a view whereby he could cut himself loose from the triple continuation,

• had the knowledge of disposing of every argument of the philosophers on causation,

• thoroughly understood the Tathagata-garbha, the stage of Buddhahood, the inmost self, found himself abiding in the Buddha-knowledge;

[when suddenly] a voice was heard from the sky, saying, "It is to be known by oneself."

So the implication seems to be...everything.

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Everything that is chalked up as the path towards, is actually an implication of realization.

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Is this what foyan means when he says?:

Buddhism is very easy; it spares effort, but you yourself waste energy and make your own hardships.”

Or when Huangbo says?:

you should not try and supplement that with meaningless practice, when there is occasion for them perform them, and when the occasion is past, remain quiet. If you are not absolutely convinced that the mind is buddha, and you are attached to forms, practices...your way of thinking is false”.

Or when Joshu said?:

"Brethren! If the right man preaches the wrong way, the way will follow the man and become right. If the wrong man preaches the right way, the way will follow the man and become wrong. Elsewhere it [Zen] is hard to look at but easy to see through. At my place it is easy to look at, but hard to see through.

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BUT:

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"Lord of Lanka, conducting thyself in this manner, let thee be further purified in the way thou hast attained”

-Lanka

So we even yet have the Buddha preaching a conduct to be followed?

But what is the conduct?

Is it “become adept at cultivating samadhi and samapatti” (RP pg.42.) as he says? Sure, but...don't we now know that the realization brings the knowledge of how to do that effortlessly?

When you have an understanding of all conduct, when the weight of your realization contains everything...how hard can it be to practice right? When you ‘become a great yogan of the discipline’, can you be worried about motivations and setting timers?

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Here is how I say it:

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Before skill

Training

Upon mastery

No skill

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The lanka says it a bunch more ways, here are some:

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performs deeds transcending forms

Yogins ought to exercise themselves in the discipline which has been given them by their good friends and the Buddha.

Further, Mahamati, when the Bodhisattva-Mahasattva establishes himself in the abode where he has gained a thorough understanding of Mind by means of his transcendental knowledge, he should later discipline himself in the cultivation of noble wisdom in its triple aspect

So what about before the realization? Well, the Lanka says- among other things, become a monk and live in seclusion, and also says there are plenty of people that can’t realize.

The zen masters,- among other things - regardless of their environment say:

“clarify directly”,

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“you should not try and supplement that with meaningless practice, when there is occasion for them perform them, and when the occasion is past, remain quiet”

Which way will you approach practice - from complete knowledge, or a striving propelled by ignorance?

Which way will you talk about practice? From a place of ignorance?

Will you teach other people to sit still even though you haven’t discovered why yet?

Listening to: SZA - 'Ctrl'

Submitted February 23, 2018 at 01:54AM by TFnarcon9 http://ift.tt/2BJWswi