Letting things take care of themselves

Letting things take care of themselves

The Master instructed a monk who had come from Tamba:29 "To take the attitude that, having come all this way, you want to be sure and realize buddhahood now as quickly as you can is to be deluded by your consuming desire for buddhahood. This may seem like something perfectly fine and admirable, but it is, in fact, deluded. When it comes to me, I never even quote the words of the buddhas and patriarchs in the sutras and records. And if you want to know why, it's because I can manage perfectly dealing with people's own selves, so that's all I talk to them about.

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"Your wanting to realize buddhahood as quickly as you can is useless to begin with. Since the Buddha Mind you have from your parents is unborn and marvelously illuminating, before even a single thought is produced, all things are recognized and distinguished without resorting to any cleverness. Without attaching to [notions of] 'enlightened or 'deluded,' just remain in the state where all things are recognized and distinguished. Let things take care of themselves, and whatever comes along will be smoothly managed—whether you like it or not! That's the [working of the] Buddha Mind and its marvelously illuminating dynamic function. Like a mirror that's been perfectly polished, without producing a single thought, with no awareness on your part, without even realizing it, each and every thing is smoothly dealt with as it comes from outside. Not understanding this, you people take all the credit and act as if you managed everything yourselves by means of cleverness! That's why you can't help remaining deluded. If you clearly grasp that thought is something you produce yourself when you get involved with things that come along, Sermons • 87 and keep from switching [the Buddha Mind] for some 'thing/ why, that's the basis of religious practice; and it's also what's meant when we say that the Buddha Mind is unborn, our own intrinsic and marvelously illuminating dynamic function."

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Windrakes second pass: This Zen stuff is about as simple as it gets though I do struggle with cleverness. By struggle I mean refuse to drop. Oh sometimes even I refuse to be clever! Man what a trap. When do we be clever? When to we be not-clever... a real pickle. I enjoy this pickle more each day. It is good to be with you all, please share your cleverness with me! Perhaps we will catch the horse this time!

Submitted November 08, 2018 at 12:21PM by windDrakeHex https://ift.tt/2SVjCWO