I'll explain what I know of the Dharma or buddha-nature to you, since I have absolutely no fear on the matter. Dharma-nature, of course, isn't something and it isn't nothing either. Dharma-nature is that which is beyond all that we can conceive with our minds or grasp with our senses. To use Zen properly is to grasp this physical body and take control of this mind of ours in some way, and use them to attempt to see this dharma-nature directly.
To see dharma-nature, even in an indirect way, is to have had an insight to dharma-nature, as I've had several times. Its there. I was able to discover what dharma-nature is in different ways, but one in particular that stands out to me at the moment is realizing that dharma-nature exists before our thoughts can arrive and settle on the matter.
Have you seen the Christopher Nolan film Interstellar? Coming to an understanding of buddha-nature is somewhat like seeing the physical form of an 'event horizon' surrounding a black hole. You can't actually see to the black hole itself, but you can see all of the energy, light and activity surrounding it in order to let you know that it is truly there. In this way, you can see that all of reality and the physical universe that we can observe or grasp with the senses is merely the 'event horizon' that shrouds dharma-nature from direct observation. If you can get to the point of understanding dharma-nature in this way, then perhaps you can also come to the understanding that even the "reality" that you can grasp with the senses is still in fact dharma-nature as well, for there is not a single place that it does not exist.
What is the point then of all of this scholarly study of yours in Zen if you cannot eventually see through to the heart of the matter? This technical understanding or merely scholarly study of Zen that I observe from certain people is quite a strange and foreign thing to me. Instead of studying from a careful and observational distance, why not leap right into the event horizon? There is a point to Zen, you should know, and in part it involves delving into it fully and with reckless abandon. Have I read the community right in that many of you are mere scholars of Zen?
WanderingRonin77: This is from a series of my own statements in a conversation I had with a member of the community yesterday. This was shared in an effort to explain my understanding of the concept of the Dharma or buddha-nature in Zen. I have revised my original statements into a small essay to share and discuss with the community.
Submitted February 15, 2018 at 08:05PM by WanderingRonin77 http://ift.tt/2F3nkqE
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