No thought. The motionless mind of the ancient masters.

HUANG PO said.

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"Not till your thoughts cease all their branching here and there, not till you abandon all thoughts of seeking for something, not till your mind is motionless as wood or stone, will you be on the right road to the Gate.” “Here it is--right now. Start thinking about it and you miss it.”

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SENGCAN puts it this way.

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To deny the reality of things is to miss their reality; to assert the emptiness of things is to miss their reality. The more you talk and think about it, the further astray you wander from the truth. Stop talking and thinking and there is nothing you will not be able to know.

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HUINENG says.

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. Confused by thoughts, we experience duality in life. Unencumbered by ideas, the enlightened see the one Reality.

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T. O. M's comment.

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Over and over we see the same thing uttered by the masters of old, and I know I harp on about the same old shit, time after time, but this is important.

Just look at what Huang po says, unless you give up that seeking, constantly thinking mind, then you won't enter the gate..

Its here, right in front of you. If you have an apple, thinking or speaking about the apple won't nourish you. But eating it will.

If you are underwater, tied to a rock and cannot breathe, thinking about air won't save your life.

Just in the same way, reading all those old books and zen stories won't make you enlightened..

Just do one thing, and do it well, do it constantly..... Get rid of all that conceptual stuff that is floating around in your noggin and distracting you from the here and now. Take time out and do a little meditation, go for a walk in the countryside and breathe in the fresh air....... Instead of constantly thinking about life, just be in closer contact with it, and maybe then, you will be on the right road to the Gate.

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T. O. M's disclaimer.

I'm not a zen master, my advice is only my ramblings. It is advice to myself, my mantra to focus me for the day. If you enjoy it, fair play.... If not, who gives a monkeys.

Submitted February 11, 2022 at 11:56AM by transmission_of_mind https://ift.tt/KpB5W9N