Yellow Leaves for Crying Babies
Hongzhi Zhengjue addressed the monks, saying, “If on some distant embankment you see horns, then you know for sure there's an ox there. If on some distant mountain you see smoke, then you know for sure there's a fire there. But what is it that all of you here know for certain? Do you understand? When the bird calls from its roost, then morning comes. When you smell the plum blossoms, it means spring has arrived.”
Hongzhi addressed the monks, saying, “When the buddhas talk about Dharma, they're just using yellow leaves to stop babies from crying. When the ancestors transmit the teaching, they're just making empty-handed threats. When you reach this point, you must [attain] self-cessation, self-realization, and self-clarity. The Buddha is realized in each individual person, and the Dharma can't be passed to you by someone else. If you understand in this manner, then you are a great adept, a true patch-robed monk, and you have successfully completed the great affair.
- Zen's Chinese heritage: the masters and their teachingsby Andy Ferguson
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You'll recognize the first bit about the ox from the first case of Blue Cliff. Yuanwu was one of Hongzhi's teachers. Family crew representing.
"When the ancestors transmit the teaching, they're just making empty-handed threats."
"The Buddha is realized in each individual person, and the Dharma can't be passed to you by someone else."
Submitted January 13, 2020 at 09:14AM by madewithsticks https://ift.tt/2QLLzBm
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