[Huangbo Xiyun]
Reformatted from: On the Tranmission of Mind as translated by J. Blofeld
[29] Regarding this Zen Doctrine of ours, since it was first transmitted, it has never taught that men should seek for learning or form concepts. "Studying the Way" is just a figure of speech. It is a method of arousing people's interest in the early stages of their development.
Foyan: "In ancient times, there was an adept who told people, “Each of you has your inspiration; when you first determined to go journeying, you must have made this determination on account of life and death. Some may have aroused the determination to avoid misery, or because of the pressure of circumstances; in any case it is called inspiration. Why? To get people to look at their initial inspiration.” That is, if your original thought of inspiration has not changed, turning back to it is most powerful. This is the Zen for you to study; if you actually attain it, it is simply clear purity of mind. When you seek out teachers along the way and contemplate day and night, you are simply nurturing this mind. Then when you have awakened and realized it, you will then see that it had not been lost even before you were inspired. The saint Ashvaghosha said of this, “Initial enlightenment is itself fundamental enlightenment; fundamental enlightenment itself is unconscious. The nonduality of the initial experience and the fundamental reality is called ultimate enlightenment.”
In fact, the Way is not something which can be studied. Study leads to the retention of concepts and so the Way is entirely misunderstood, Moreover. the Way is not something specially existing; it is called the Mahāyāna Mind—Mind which is not to be found inside, outside or in the middle.
Truly it is not located anywhere.
Foyan: "An ancient said, “Not knowing means nothing is not known, nowhere not reached.”; and "An ancient said, “Everywhere is you. Go east, and it’s you; go west, and it’s you. Who are you?”
The first step is to refrain from knowledge-based concepts. This implies that if you were to follow the empirical method to the utmost limit, on reaching that limit you would still be unable to locate Mind.
"The Way" is spiritual Truth and was originally without name or title. It was only because people ignorantly sought for it empirically that the Buddhas appeared and taught them to eradicate this method of approach. Fearing that nobody would understand, they selected the name "Way".
You must not allow this name to lead you into forming a mental concept of a road. So it is said ‘When the fish is caught we pay no more attention to the trap.' When body and mind achieve spontaneity, the Way is reached and Mind is understood.
Foyan: "When the two sicknesses are gone, and there is nothing on your mind, then you are called a wayfarer. What else is there? This is why when Zhaozhou asked Nanquan, 'What is the path?' Nanquan replied, 'The normal mind is the path.' Now Zhaozhou suddenly stopped his hasty search, recognized the sickness of 'Zen Masters' and the sickness of 'Buddhas,' and passed through it all. After that, he traveled all over, and had no peer anywhere, because of his recognition of sicknesses."
Submitted January 22, 2020 at 07:47PM by GreenSage45 https://ift.tt/2RBLgrY
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