Huineng: to see that all things are empty is to practice sitting

(Hsieh-chien asked:) 'The great masters of Zen in the capital invariably teach their followers to practice meditation, for according to them no emancipation, no spiritual attainment is possible without it.'

To this Huineng replied: 'The truth is understood by the mind, not by sitting in meditation ... To see that all things are empty is to practice sitting (in meditation) ... As long as there is a dualistic way of looking at things there is no emancipation ... The main point is not to think of things good and bad and thereby to be restricted, but to let the mind move on as it is in itself and perform its inexhaustible functions. This is the way to accord with the Mind-essence.'

(Translated in The Zen Doctrine of No-mind by DT Suzuki)

DT Suzuki's commentary:

'Huineng's conception of Dhyana (meditation), we can now see, was not that traditionally held by followers of the two vehicles. His dhyana was not the art of transquilizing the mind so that its inner essence, pure and undefiled, may come out of its casings ... The attempt to reach light by dispelling darkness is dualistic, and this will never lead the Yogin to the proper understanding of Mind.'

Submitted May 18, 2019 at 11:17PM by d4l3c00p3r http://bit.ly/2YuviSm