chan
Zen Master Han-Shan: It is originally inherent in everyone
It is originally inherent in
EVERYONE,
Actually complete in each individual,
LACKING NOTHING
at all
Han-shan
Tom’s comments:
What more is there to say?
If you try to figure it out, if you try to look for it, you have already missed it, for you have presupposed incompleteness, you have assumed the presence of lack.
Where is the lack? In what way are you incomplete?
It is the mind that tells you you need something else, the mind that ‘says this is not enough’.
There is no need to believe the mind and the stories (lies) it spews forth: it is already here, ‘LACKING NOTHING AT ALL’, and you are it.
Crystal clear: Zen practice instructions from Yuanwu
Just do not give birth to a single thought: let go and become crystal clear.
As soon as any notions of right and wrong and self and others and gain and loss are present, do not follow them off.
Then you will be personally studying with your own true enlightened teacher.
Yuanwu (1063-1135)
Taken from ‘Zen Letters: The Teachings of Yuanwu’ p. 50
Absorption in the Treasury of Light by Zen master Ejo
So I’ve been reading ‘Absorption in the Treasury of Light’ by Ejo (1198-1290) and to put it simply, it has blown my mind. The way Ejo expresses both the so-called ‘path’ and ‘state’ of realisation is astounding. I love how he speaks from his direct experience but also draws from scripture. His interspersed scriptural excepts sometimes seem to contradict each other, but the way he juxtaposes them, and in the context of his writing…well the combination results in a potent pointer to the Ultimate. Continue reading
Sudden vs gradual enlightenment
First there was the gradual path, the progressive path: I could, through practice, become enlightened.
Then there was the instant path, the sudden path: I could, through a flash of insight, become enlightened.
Now, I am happily lost. Continue reading
Tom Das 