Zen texts: Not about meditation, right or wrong or being like a tree

Seeing forms, hearing sounds, smelling odors, tasting flavors, sensing feelings, cognizing phenomena, are the functions of the powers of the six faculties; among these sense fields, that which distinguishes good and bad, discriminates false and true, is wisdom. Herein to set up others and self, producing love and hate, all are wrong views; development of attachment to forms based on these wrong views is called delusion, and from this delusion arise matter, sensation, perception, coordination, and consciousness-the five clusters-this is called affliction. Because sentient beings' physical bodies are built of afflictions, they indulge in murder, theft, adultery, falsehood, and other evil actions, and eventually degenerate into the three evil ways [hell fiends, hungry ghosts, animals]. All this comes from wrong thoughts; as soon as these wrong thoughts arise, if you can turn them right around toward fundamental reality, then you can attain mindlessness. Once you rest in no mind, then the five clusters become the five-element body of reality of those who come to realize thusness. This is called "abiding nowhere, yet activating the mind." Using your mind in this way is the great function of cultivation of practice.

Don't despise afflictions, just purify your mind. An ancient said, "To study the way you must be made of iron; lay hold of the mind and it's settled. Directly approaching unexcelled enlightenment, don't worry about any right or wrong."

• development of attachment .. is called affliction.

• as these wrong thoughts arise, if you can turn them right around toward fundamental reality, then you can attain mindlessness.

• don't worry about any right or wrong

Ordinary people are also like trees; on the thin soil of folly and delusion putting the manure of greed and lust, planting seeds of ignorance, transplanting shoots of the five clusters, producing buds of active habitual consciousness, growing roots of attachment and stems of the sense of others and self, bringing forth branches of flattery and deceit, sprouting leaves of jealousy and envy, creating trees of affliction, causing flowers of infatuation to bloom, forming fruits of the three poi- sons. When the tasks of fame and profit are done, they sing the songs of desires.

Now tell me: are these three kinds of trees any better or worse than each other? If there is anyone who can pull them out by the roots with a single hand and plant them on the ground where there is no light or shade and make a shadow less tree, he must be someone of great power, who has the same root as heaven and earth, the same body as myriad things. But tell me: who is this, what is he? If you say he is a Buddha, heaven and earth are far apart.

• Ordinary people are] growing roots of attachment and stems of the sense of others and self, bringing forth branches of flattery and deceit ... causing flowers of infatuation to bloom, forming fruits of the three poisons.

• When the tasks of fame and profit are done, they sing the songs of desires.

• If there is anyone who can pull them out by the roots with a single hand and plant them on the ground where there is no light or shade and make a shadow less tree, he must be someone of great power,

• what is he? If you say he is a Buddha, heaven and earth are far apart.

I see several cases that share similarities with this text.

"A good thing isn't as good as nothing"

"Who is the man coming in and out of your face?"

"No merit"

"How does a man of great strength lift his leg"

"Right | Wrong vs. Right | Wrong"

"Detach from even detachment"

IF you read the texts a lot, you'll quickly see major themes and recurring concepts. They are all talking about the same thing after all. I think it's funny that a lot of the smaller texts and even parts of the bigger ones can be found in other texts as well, even when they aren't quoting eachother.

I think that says a lot about the tradition.

Submitted June 20, 2022 at 12:24AM by TheChemicalWhisperer https://ift.tt/cmGyvEs