An online community sharing the study and practice of Chan Buddhism

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至道無難, 惟嫌揀擇. 無咎無法, 不生不心. 一如體玄, 兀爾忘緣.
但莫憎愛, 洞然明白. 能由境滅, 境逐能沉. 萬法齊觀, 歸復自然.
毫厘有差, 天地懸隔. 境由能境, 能由境能. 泯其所以, 不可方比.
欲得現前, 莫存順逆. 欲知兩段, 原是一空. 止動無動, 動止無止.
違順相爭, 是為心病. 一空同兩, 齊含萬象. 兩既不成, 一何有爾.
不識玄旨, 徒勞念靜. 不見精粗, 寧有偏黨. 究竟窮極, 不存軌則.
圓同太虛, 無欠無余. 大道體寬, 無易無難. 契心平等, 所作俱息.
良由取舍, 所以不如. 小見狐疑, 轉急轉遲. 狐疑盡淨, 正信調直.
莫逐有緣, 勿往空忍. 執之失度, 必入邪路. 一切不留, 無可記憶.
一種平懷, 泯然自盡. 放之自然, 體無去住. 虛明自照, 不勞心力.
止動歸止, 止更彌動. 任性合道, 逍遙絕惱. 非思量處, 識情難測.
惟滯兩邊, 寧知一種. 繫念乖真, 昏沉不好. 真如法界, 無他無自.
一種不通, 兩處失功. 不好勞神, 何用疏親. 要急相應, 惟言不二.
遣有沒有, 從空背空. 欲取一承, 勿惡六塵. 不二皆同, 無不包容.
多言多慮, 轉不相應. 六塵不惡, 還同正覺. 十方智者, 皆入次宗.
絕言絕慮, 無處不通. 智者無為, 愚人自縛. 宗非延促, 一念萬年.
歸根得旨, 隨照失宗. 法無異法, 妄自愛著. 無在不在, 十方目前.
須臾反照, 勝卻前空. 將心用心, 豈非大錯. 極小同大, 忘絕境界.
前空轉變, 皆由妄見. 迷生寂亂, 悟無好惡. 極大同小, 不見邊表.
不用求真, 惟須息見. 一切二邊, 良由斟酌. 有即是無, 無即是有.
二見不住, 慎莫追尋. 夢幻空花, 何勞把捉. 若不如是, 必不須守.
才有是非, 紛然失心. 得失是非, 一時放卻. 一即一切, 一切即一.
二由一有, 一亦莫守. 眼若不寐, 諸夢自除. 但能如是, 何慮不畢.
一心不生, 萬法無咎. 心若不異, 萬法一如. 信心不二, 不二信心.
    言語道斷, 非去來今.
 

Sutras and Shastras

Since there is no difference between the Shakti and the one who embodies her, nor between substance and object, the Shakti is identical to the Self. The energy of the flames is nothing but the fire. All distinction is but a prelude to the path of true knowledge. The one who reaches the Shakti grasps the non-distinction between Shiva and Shakti and enters the door to the divine. As space is ...

Thus have I heard. One morning, when the Buddha was staying near Shravasti in the jeta grove of Anathapindika's estate, He and His company of twelve hundred and fifty monks went into the city to beg for their breakfast; and after they returned and finished their meal, they put away their robes and bowls and washed their feet. Then the Buddha took His seat and the others sat down before Him.

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There is a teaching (dharma) which can awaken in us the root of faith in the Mahayana, and it should therefore be explained. The explanation is divided into five parts. They are (1) the Reasons for Writing; (2) the Outline; (3) the Interpretation; (4) on Faith and Practice; (5) the Encouragement of Practice and the Benefits Thereof. Someone may ask the reasons why I was led to write this ...

This is what should be done By one who is skilled in goodness, And who knows the path of peace: Let them be able and upright, Straightforward and gentle in speech. Humble and not conceited, Contented and easily satisfied. Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways. Peaceful and calm, and wise and skilful, Not proud and demanding in nature.

The Buddha's Teaching on Loving-kindness
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Thus have I heard. At one time the Blessed One together with many of the highest Bodhisattvas and a great company of Bhikshus was staying at Rajagaha on Mt. Gridhrakuta. The Blessed One was sitting apart absorbed in Samadhi Prajna-paramita. The Venerable Sariputra, influenced by the Blessed One absorbed in Samadhi, spoke thus to the Noble Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara:

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The Platform Sutra of Hui Neng became a pivotal treatise in the history of Chan, often used as a distinguishing mark of Souther School Chán.  An important resource for anyone interested in the historical devolopment of Chán Buddhism in China. The Master Hui-neng ascended the high seat at the lecture hall of the Ta-fan Temple and expounded the Dharma of the Great Perfection of Wisdom, and ...

By NA
Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, when practicing deeply the Prajna Paramita, Perceived that all five skandhas are empty&nbsp And was saved from all suffering and distress. O Shariputra, form does not differ from emptiness; Emptiness does not differ from form. That which is form is emptiness; That which is emptiness form.

The Heart Sutra -- "The Heart of the Perfection of Great Wisdom" Sutra

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By the Buddha

Sayings of the Buddha

Speak not harshly to anyone; those thus spoken to will retort. Vindictive speech begets sorrow, and retaliatory blows may bruise you.
-- Canto X.5

Even though a man be richly attired, if he should live in peace, calm, controlled, assured, leading a holy life, abstaining from inflicting injury upon all creatures, he is truly a brahmana, a recluse, a bhikkhu.
-- Canto X.14

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I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One, on a wandering tour among the Kosalans with a large community of monks, arrived at Kesaputta, a town of the Kalamas. The Kalamas of Kesaputta heard it said, "Gotama the contemplative — the son of the Sakyans, having gone forth from the Sakyan clan — has arrived at Kesaputta. And of that Master Gotama this fine reputation has spread: 'He ...

Death & Dying

By Chuan Zhi

When we recognize that the ego doesn't exist in any real sense but only as an artifice of the mind, there's nothing that needs explaining anymore: the notion of reincarnation is seen as nothing more than an intellectual game. The person, like the raindrop, merges into the sea of the Dharmakaya, a sea where individuality, in any mode of conception, is totally obliterated. Does one molecule of ...

By Carl Gustav Jung
Carl Jung was, and continues to be, a tremendous influence on matters of spiritual consciousness in the western hemisphere. He was deeply interested in the psychological and spiritual underpinnings of Zen Buddhism and other eastern religions and for many years collaborated with Zen scholars and priests such as D. T. Suzuki. Between them, an amalgam of psychology and spirituality took shape that ...
By John Donne
Perchance, he for whom this bell tolls may be so ill, as that he knows not it tolls for him; and perchance I may think myself so much better than I am, as that they who are about me, and see my state, may have caused it to toll for me, and I know not that. The church is Catholic, universal, so are all her actions; all that she does belongs to all. When she baptizes a child, that action concerns ...
By Jalai Al-Din
I died from the plant, and reappeared in an animal; I died from the animal and became a man; Wherefore then should I fear? When did I grow less by dying? Next time I shall die from the man, That I may grow the wings of angels. From the angel, too, must I seek advance; All things shall perish save His face Once more shall I wing my way above the angels; I shall become that which entereth not the ...
By Chuan Zhi

My first encounter with a Zen teacher happened when I was in my late twenties. Zen had been an interest of mine for nearly a decade before this chance encounter with a person of Zen. I had never thought seriously about actually DOING Zen, but I liked reading the philosophies that came from Zen literature. Doing Zen was, well, something I thought I would never be able to do: it required detaching ...

By Michael Gellert
“Death,” Jung wrote in 1945 not long after his heart attack, “is the hardest thing from the outside and as long as we are outside of it. But once inside you taste of such completeness and peace and fulfillment that you don’t want to return.”1 Jung was speaking here of his out-of-body, near-death experience, whose gripping effect indeed made it difficult for him to return to the world of ...