Original thoughts are freedom

Buddhism and zen by nyogen senzaki

When Buddha achieved his own enlightenment, he experienced tremen-

dous diflBculties. The natural tendency of every man is toward ease, comfort, and the "good" things of life, but

if he wants to climb the upward path, he must toil hard.

His aspiration for perfection must be accomplished by

self-discipline. Deliverance is not to be attained by

prayer, belief in creeds, nor initiation into secret orders

or mysteries, but by leading an upright, worthy life. Puri-

fication is accomplished by being conscious of every

thought, word and act, and, by the avoidance of evil to

respect life. To respect life is to practice the ordinary

virtues, to be honest, to live cleanly and think purely,

to be just and kind, to respect others and to live in peace

with them, and to strive against ignorance.

Buddha is a state of mind . . . intellectual and moral

perfection. It means enlightenment; one who is truly

enlightened is a Buddha. Buddha Sakyamuni attained

Buddhahood through his own efforts, and declared that

it was possible for anyone to do the same. By his own

efforts each must find his inner treasure and see it for

himseff.

Buddha is a state of mind . . . intellectual and moral

perfection. It means enlightenment; one who is truly

enlightened is a Buddha. Buddha Sakyamuni attained

Buddhahood through his own efforts, and declared that

it was possible for anyone to do the same. By his own

efforts each must find his inner treasure and see it for

himseff.

Bodhi-Dharma once said, "If you wish to see the Bud-

dha, you must look into your own inner-nature; this na-

ture is the Buddha himseff. If you have not seen your

own nature, what is the use of thinking of Buddha, or

reciting Sutras, or fasting, or keeping the precepts? By

thinking of Buddha, your meritorious deed will bear

fruit; by reciting the Sutras, you may attain a bright in-

tellect; by keeping the precepts, you may be born into

the heavens; by practicing charity, you may be rewarded

abundantly; but as to seeking the Buddha, you are far

away."

The Practice of Meditation

Truth is perfect and complete in itseff. It is not some-

thing just newly discovered ... it has always existed.

Truth is not far away; it is ever near. Do not try to

walk to it because your every step leads not away from it.NOTES ON MEDITATION 25

Do not follow some other person's thoughts, but learn

to listen to the voice within yourself. Your body and your

mind will blend in unity, and you will realize the one-

ness of all life. Even a delicate movement of your dualistic thought

will prevent you from entering Samadhi, the Palace of

Meditation.

Those who talk much about realization are usually

wandering outside its gates, and will have some struggle

before they enter this Palace of Meditation.

Buddha Sakyamuni meditated six years, and Bodhi-

Dharma meditated nine years. The practice of medita-

tion is not a method for the attainment of realization but

is enlightenment itself. Your search among books, word upon word, may lead

you to the depths of the cognition world, but it is not

the way to receive the reflection of your true self. When you have throvⁿⁱ off your ideas as to mind and

body, you will see the original man in full. Zen is noth-

ing but the actualization of truth; therefore, the longings

which are followed by actions are not the true attitude of

Zen at all. To attain the blessedness of meditation you should

begin the practice with a pure motive and a firm de-

termination. Your room for meditation must be clean and

quiet. Take your regular meal sparingly, and shut out

all noises and disturbances. Do not let the mind dwell

in thought on what is good or what is bad. Just relax

and forget that you are meditating. Do not desire to be-

come a Buddha. If you do, you will never become one.

Joel pfeiffer's comment wastedtime420 If you kill the Buddha You can kill your emotions you can kill your relationships you can kill your heart,pride, culture, honor.or it means nothing. to kill or not to kill that is the question.like Shakespeare When some one wrongs you it's not your fault they have to cheat to win .think about a good outcome instead of the worst out come.I think any achievements is all we can do in this life.what will you achieve?who will quote you tomorrow?Zen is not serious every word is mentioned to be meaningless .zen is to have original thoughts beyond rules and beyond influence."     The more we separate our self's from  the one ness of the mass conciseness and the earths energy the more sadness  we get.thinking we are superior by our self's is another control technique .we are only superior in  knowing that all of our lives are equal in value and we all have similar problems we are superior together. When we can't see that our ego is not something to be gotten rid of but to realise that it is a part of the darkness that is a part of you and the light .we must transmute the dark energy into light with our hearts nothing else . it feeds off our hatred and fear and desires. the only way to beat it is to stop fearing it and to stop fighting it and let go of the hatred. only the ones that cause us the most pain can take away our pain.we can only change the world through enlightenment.               

Submitted November 11, 2019 at 01:14PM by zenturdburglar420 https://ift.tt/33BarQ1