Master Chih

Master Chih again asked, "If you hold a view with characteristics, it is the view of a common man. If you hold a view of voidness of essence, it is the view of the two vehicles. If you hold a view of neither existence nor nonexistence, it is the view of a solitary Buddha. If you hold a view of pity and sympathy, it is the view of compassion with love. If you use mind to view, then it is the view of the followers of the non-Buddhist paths. If you make use of the consciousnesses to view, it is the view of the Heavenly Evil One. If you do not see forms and formlessness, you will no longer have views. How should one view in order to be free of all these errors?

Master Yuan said, "I have nothing whatsoever to do with these sorts of views at all, and that is what is properly called taking a a view. Because you create various false thoughts such as these, you are deluding yourself and confusing yourself.

The above is from the bodhidharma anthology.

Questions:

1. Who is master Chih and is it the same one emperor Wu consulted after his meeting bodhidharma?
2. if it is the same master Chih, what was a master doing in China ahead of the founder of zen in China? Or is this some other meaning of”master” than what I assumed?
3. also, whether it’s the same Chih or not, don’t forget that the Chih Wu talked to died six years before bodhidharma arrived. Could we be dealing with a time traveling Chih here?

Submitted February 13, 2019 at 01:09AM by Pistaf http://bit.ly/2THX77v