The Master said to me: All the Buddhas and all sentient beings are nothing but the One Mind, beside which nothing exists. This Mind, which is without beginning, is unborn and indestructible. It is not green nor yellow, and has neither form nor appearance. It does not belong to the categories of things which exist or do not exist, nor can it be thought of in terms of new or old. It is neither long nor short, big nor small, for it transcends all limits, measures, names, traces and comparisons. It is that which you see before you—begin to reason about it and you at once fall into error.
It is like the boundless void which cannot be fathomed or measured. The One Mind alone is the Buddha, and there is no distinction between the Buddha and sentient things, but that sentient beings are attached to forms and so seek externally for Buddhahood. By their very seeking they lose it, for that is using the Buddha to seek for the Buddha and using mind to grasp Mind. Even though they do their utmost for a full aeon, they will not be able to attain to it. They do not know that, if they put a stop to conceptual thought and forget their anxiety, the Buddha will appear before them, for this Mind is the Buddha and the Buddha is all living beings. It is not the less for being manifested in ordinary beings, nor is it greater for being manifested in the Buddhas.
Huángbò Xīyùn: On Transmission of Mind, translated by John Blofeld, 1958
Wandering Ronin commentary and questions: From what I've seen over years, I believe that are some very common traps and pitfalls in Zen that can quite easily hinder followers of the way if they aren't diligent. To put it simply, certain patterns become distinctly obvious over enough time. I've studied and 'practiced' Zen, for lack of a better term, for just over three lazy and unskillful decades now, and one of my distinct specialties seems to be making every mistake there is to be made on the Way. Hopefully these points can help a few others in their practice and study of Zen; if anyone wishes to add to this list in the comments, please feel free to do so.
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Selective reasoning from the Zen texts: Confirmation bias is quite a serious and commonplace issue when it comes to reasoning and thought. This is perhaps far more evident in Christianity, where followers may pick and choose from the Bible to support certain things for certain reasons and outright ignore others, but the study of Zen is not entirely without fault either. For one example, if one wishes to believe that zazen has a place in the practice of Zen, then they can look for the teachings of certain Zen masters in order to support their views while ignoring any information to the contrary, and vice versa.
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Not being aware of the gaining mind: As delineated by the Huángbò Xīyùn quote above, Zen is a powerfully simple and direct thing. Paradoxically, it is so simple that it becomes something wildly complex in concepts if certain missteps are made. To approach Zen with a gaining mind is one of the more difficult pitfalls to avoid. Basically, the gaining mind or ego as it is sometimes called may want to accumulate and acquire at all costs, and build up a knowledge base to work from and protect against outside influences or different understandings. This is turn begins to conceptually hold the individual in place at their limited understanding, and is in direct opposition with the freedom and 'flow' inherent in Zen.
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Using Zen as an excuse for ways and behaviors: In part, a proper practice and study of Zen can lead to the falling of many delusions, attachments and aversions. Zen can be seen in some lights as a thing that negates concepts. This unusual quality can lead to some interesting opposing effects from the mind, such as when someone may 'add something' to Zen that is not really there. For example, if someone comes to Zen with a focus on helping others and self-improvement, then they may believe that Zen is about those things that they already want to do. On the inverse, if someone was already nihilistic to begin with, then they may add nihilism to Zen, as they are working from that distinct conceptual filter. When it is recognized and better understood, Zen itself distinctly cuts through all of that.
Submitted November 13, 2018 at 10:57PM by WanderingRonin77 https://ift.tt/2QFxhzN
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