Zen Master Wuye of Fenzhou came to see Mazu.. Observing his dignified and commanding appearance, and hearing his speech thundering out like a temple bell, Mazu said, "A towering Buddha-temple with no Buddha inside."
Wuye bowed low on his knees and asked, "I've stud ied nearly all of the scriptures and have a basic grasp of their meaning, but I still can't understand what is meant by the Zen saying, 'It's mind, it's Buddha.""
Mazu said, "The very mind that can't understand is itself the Buddha; there's nothing more besides that."
Wuye asked again, "And just what is the 'mind-seal' secretly transmitted by Bodhidharma when he came from the West?"
Mazu replied, "Virtuous priest, you're trying too hard. Why don't you go, and come again some other time?" As soon as Wuye had gotten up to leave, Mazu called him. "Virtuous priest-"
Wuye looked back at him.
["What is this?," asked Mazu]
[Wuye was enlightened and bowed.]
"This dimwit. What's he bowing for?" said Mazu.
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Welcome! ewk comment: This very mind that can't understand... how could there be a simpler explanation? Yet all day every day people try to demonstrate it by pretending to understand something, by rationally explaining it. Then they end up thinking they are the teacher, trying to give lessons, and forgetting they are supposed to bow down.
What a waste of everybody's time.
Submitted February 28, 2022 at 08:54AM by ewk https://ift.tt/yuZv7qd
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