The Real Shobogenzo: People who run at night

Dahui's Real Original, the First Shobogenzo:

242.  Master Letan Jun said to an assembly, The mainspring of the founding teacher is hidden in mystery; few people know it.  How can it be brought up to those who don’t understand mind? 

[shouting once] 

What am I saying?  If it were only thus, the whole school of Bodhidharma would have been wiped off the face of the earth. 

Therefore when the World Honored One first realized this matter, he thereupon opened the gate of expedient means to show the manifestation of reality and enable every Tom, Dick, and Harry everywhere to understand this matter.

Today I cannot but open the gate of expedients in emulation of the ancients.  [hitting the Chan seat once with his whisk]  The gate of expedients is opened—what is the manifestation of reality?  [a long pause]  Eight out of ten, nine out of ten ignorant people run at night.

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ewk note: People come in here complaining that Bodhidharma's school has been wiped from the earth... well, who is at fault for this? Dogen and Hakuin's followers, and their slavish devotion to messiahs and code words, tried to replace Bodhidharma's teaching; how did that work out?

Now that you've seen the gate of expedients being opened, you can toss out messiahs and code words out... and all of Buddhism, for that matter.

Nothing to see here!

Submitted June 18, 2019 at 01:57PM by ewk http://bit.ly/2x236KS