A monk asked Huang po: " The Sixth Patriarch was illiterate. How is it that he was handed the robe which elevated him to that office.. Elder Shen Hsiu ( a rival candidate) occupied a position above five hundred monks, he was able to expound thirty two volumes of Sutras. Why did he not receive the robe? "
Huang po answered:" Because he still indulged in conceptual thought, in the dharma of activity. To him, "as you practice, so shall you attain " was a reality. So the fifth Patriarch made the transmission to Huineng. At that very moment, the latter attained a tacit understanding of the Tathagata.
Exerpt from " On the transmission of mind" The zen teachings of Huang po.
Huang po died in 850 ad and was considered to be the founder of the Lin Chi Sect.
Tathāgata (Sanskrit: [tɐˈtʰaːɡɐtɐ]) is a Pali and Sanskrit word; Gautama Buddha uses it when referring to himself in the Pāli Canon. The term is often thought to mean either "one who has thus gone" (tathā-gata) or "one who has thus come" (tathā-āgata). This is interpreted as signifying that the Tathāgata is beyond all coming and going – beyond all transitory phenomena.
T. O. M's comment.
Huineng was seen to be one who has beyond all coming and going, beyond all concepts, his rival Elder Shen, could recite thirty two volumes of sutra, but this was not helpful. Huineng embodied the principle behind those Sutras, the principle that doesn't rely upon learned responses and quotations.
Everywhere are references within zen literature to let go of conceptual thought, to let go of preferences and beliefs.
Huang po calls this the The total abandonment of mind. Thoughts, perception, concepts and the rest.
Thoughts, perception and concepts still arise, but Huang po teaches to abandon these aspects of mind.
Peace.
Submitted October 12, 2020 at 12:26PM by transmission_of_mind https://ift.tt/2GYadvW
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