This is not a matter of forced understanding, or all sorts of contrived understanding. Since you basically do not understand, what are you capable of doing? You need to examine attentively; look to see where the not understanding comes from.
Do you want to know? This non-understanding of yours basically comes from nowhere. Since it comes from nowhere, how could this not understanding be? And when you understand, the non-understanding goes nowhere. When you look at it in this way, you may be sure of attaining clarification.
I have seen many who cannot follow principle; when they take it up, they turn it upside down at once. They makes useless theoretical interpretations of the sayings and model cases of the ancients, their different challenges, records of seasonal addresses, and the modalities of their individual schools, considering this to be Zen study. How miserable! Study of the path is not like this.
Zen study is not a small matter. You do not yet need to transcend the Buddhas and surpass the adepts; but once you have attained it, it will not be hard to transcend and surpass them if you wish.
Our foray into Foyan is done for now. Like Huangbo, this guy really likes to hear himself ramble -- unlike Huangbo, I didn't have to take breaks every ten minutes.
I have a two-question quiz:
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What is Zen study?
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Foyan talks about transcending Buddhas and surpassing adepts, if you wish, upon attainment of the way -- what is there to be transcended and surpassed?
Submitted January 08, 2020 at 09:29PM by ThatKir https://ift.tt/2tCe7En
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