Reflecting on The Four Sacred Verses of Bodhidharma [480–520]

A special transmission outside the scriptures;¹
No dependence upon words and letters;²
Direct pointing at the soul of man;³
Seeing into one's nature and the attainment of Buddhahood.⁴

The Four Sacred Verses of Bodhidharma [480–520]: translated by D. T. Suzuki [source: Terebess]

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Wandering Ronin commentary and questions:

1. Mind is already mind. There's not a single thing to transmit, or anything that resides outside of it.
2. But not independent of words and letters; the Dharma is inescapable and instantaneous.
3. The word 'soul' may cause trouble, but there's no special gathering of the source-essence in the Void.
4. No nature to see into, no attainment, no Buddhahood or lack thereof.

Submitted October 24, 2019 at 07:17PM by WanderingRoninXIII https://ift.tt/32PJmZm