💮 How To See Things As They Are? 💮

@ Beishi Guohan's Commentary : -----

◆ In fact, Sakyamuni Buddha is actually the real founder of Patriarch/ Matriarch Chan (Zen). At the moment of attaining Buddhahood under the bodhi tree about two thousand five hundred years ago, the World-honored Sakyamuni said : "How wonderful it is ! All sentient beings on the great earth sufficiently posses the wisdom and virtue of the Tathagata (Buddha), however, they are unable to realize it owing to their self-centered delusive thoughts and attachments. Provided that they are able to let go of the deluded thoughts, then the pure wisdom, natural wisdom or self-attained wisdom spontaneously manifests."

◆ Thereupon, Sakyamuni Buddha takes a single word "rest" from the expression "resting is bodhi" as "direct pointing" for sentient beings' true mind, in order to make sentient beings suddenly liberate from deluded thoughts and tame the habits, directly realize the original face of self-nature, as well as spontaneously see things as they are.

◆ Sixth Patriarch Huineng, the founder of Chinese Patriarch Chan, said, "The One-Act Samadhi means always acting with a straightforward mind in all places, no matter whether we are walking, standing, sitting, or reclining. The Pure Name Sutra says, 'The mind of straightforwardness is the Site of the Way (Dao), the Pure Land.' ..... Just act with a straightforward mind and have no attachments to all things."

◆ All in all, Chan (Zen) practitioners should always act with the mind of "pure awareness of self-nature" in daily life. That is clearly aware of all things without abiding in anything. Once they are fully free from attachments and completely tame the habitual pattern, they are able to see "things as they are" (i.e. non-two and non-one of independence, interdependence and ultimate emptiness).

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• The sharing placed here with permission from Venerable Guohan William Tsao, Dharma successor to the late Chan Master Sheng Yen.

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Submitted July 27, 2017 at 03:34AM by 3DimenZ http://ift.tt/2tL10Qs