The Real Buddha of the Essence of Mind

With Huineng's final instructions to his disciples, he offered another stanza titled The Real Buddha of the Essence of Mind. It is provided below.

From The Diamond Sutra and the Sutra of Huineng translated by A. F. Price & Wong Mou-lam.

The essence of mind, or tathata [suchness], is the real Buddha,

While heretical views and the three poisonous elements are Mara.

Enlightened by right views, we call forth the buddha within us.

When our nature is dominated by the three poisonous elemnts

We are said to be possessed by Mara;

But when right views eliminate from our mind these poisonous elements

Mara will be transformed into a real buddha.

The dharmakaya, the sambhogakaya, and the nirmanakaya—

These three bodies emanate from one [the essence of mind].

He who is able to realize this fact intuitively

Has sown the seed, and will reap the fruit of enlightenment.

It is from the nirmanakaya that our pure nature emanates;

Within the former the latter is to be found.

Guided by pure nature, the nirmanakaya treads the right path,

And will some day attain the sambhogakaya, perfect and infinite.

Pure nature is an outgrowth of our sensual insticts;

By getting rid of sensuality, we attain the pure dharmakaya.

When our temperament is such that we are no longer the slaves of the five sense objects,

And when we have realized the essence of mind even for one moment, then truth is known to us.

Should we be so fortunate as to be the followers of the Sudden school in this life,

In a sudden we shall see the bhagavat of our essence of mind.

He who seeks the Buddha [from without] by practicing certain doctrines

Knows not where the real Buddha is to be found.

He who is able to realize the truth within his own mind

Has sown the seed of buddhahood.

He who has not realized the essence of mind and seeks the Buddha from without

Is a fool motivated by wrong desires.

I have hereby left to posterity the teaching of the Sudden school

For the salvation of all sentient beings who care to practice it.

Hear me, future disciples!

Your time will have been badly wasted if you neglect to put this teaching into practice.

---

Note:

Some people view coming here as a waste of time. Others view their time spent here as an important part of their practice.

If anything, the conflict in /r/zen may be the division between these two teams. Do you come as a part of the team of Mara, or the team of Buddha? Those of Team Buddha are Huineng's disciples.

Submitted February 14, 2019 at 12:16AM by Dillon123 http://bit.ly/2BvO3f2