Picture from http://www.whozoo.org
Penetrate both the Transmission and the teachings,
practice harmonization and radical insight with brilliance,
unclouded by notions of "voidness".
I am not alone in this attainment
which Buddhas numberless as grains of sand
have displayed.
I’ll freely speak the lion’s Roar of Reality
which strikes fear into the hearts of beasts.
This almost caught me.
Penetrate both the Transmission and the teachings
The teachings can be written down, transmission can’t.
Practice being compatible and persevere in your wisdom brightly...
Gotama Buddha said:
when you hear me speak about the void, do not fall into the idea that I mean vacuity. It is of the utmost importance that we should not fall into that idea, because then when a man sits quietly and keeps his mind blank he would be abiding in a state of the "voidness of indifference." The illimitable void of the Universe its capable of holding myriads of things of various shapes and form, such as the sun and the moon, and the stars, worlds, mountains, rivers, rivulets, springs, woods, bushes, good men, bad men, laws pertaining to goodness and to badness, heavenly planes and hells, great oceans and all the mountains of Mahameru. Space takes in all these, and so does the voidness of our nature. We say that Essence of Mind is great because it embraces all things since all things are within our nature. When we see the goodness or the badness of other people, and are not attracted by it, nor repulsed by it, nor attached to it, then the attitude of our mind is as void as space. In that we see the greatness of our minds, therefore we call Mind-essence, Maha.
Next line is more of what have felt for a while. Buddhas are every ware. Just open up and you will meet them. Just be carefull of the animals, ghosts, deamons, and humans you meet along the way. Make friends with bodisatvas and saints. The more friends you have the more water you can cary. Humans are 75-80% water.
Third line, I would like to be so free.
I welcome comments, but I may integrate them into the commentary.
I hope that my efforts are helpful in clearing my own delusion as well as that of others,
Jordan
Acknowledgments
1 comment:
Jordan, thank you so much for the encouragement to be careful with "voidness". Getting lost in voidness or emptiness is a form of Zen sickness that leads to nihilism.
When I first started out I thought getting to a state of voidness/emptiness/blankness was the goal. Mostly because when my mind quieted, I felt so connected with the world. I equated a quiet mind with an empty mind. At first I didn't notice that this quiet mind is not really empty, it is capable of holding the entire universe and everything else too.
The last line here and the next line are linked.
I’ll freely speak the lion’s Roar of Reality
which strikes fear into the hearts of beasts.
As the elephant flees, forgetting his pride
the heavenly dragon listens silent and joyful.
I understand these lines to point to teaching the dharma (Roar of Reality) and the potential reaction of beings caught up in conditioned mind. This next line describes the reaction of forgetful elephants and heavenly dragons. I just don't know enough about the mythology of early Zen to understand how this applies to the modern era.
It is obvious that my knowledge in this area is less than perfect. I look forward to being straightened out.
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