The first patriarch in this country, Bodhidharma said, "If the mind affirms something, it must deny something too."
If you value a single thing, you are deluded by that thing; esteem anything and you are confused by it. Believe, and you are deluded by belief; disbelief still amounts to repudiation. Do not value, do not devalue; do not believe, do not disbelieve.
This comes from the Baizhang.
It's interesting that it's been 300+ years since we heard whispers of Bodhidharma in the West but no one has bothered to actually translate the texts attributed to him by Zen Masters nor compile the oral tradition.
In any case, we get a rejection of thought-created-Dharmas--another "Buddhism is not Zen" both by the First Patriarch of Zen in China and by Zen Master Baizhang.
This creates some interesting questions:
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What does it mean to be a Zen Sangha?
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What is the duty of someone who undertakes the vows?
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...What did Bodhidharma impart when he came from India?
Submitted April 30, 2021 at 03:02AM by ThatKir https://ift.tt/3gPYi3l
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