Devices Zen and the Direct Path

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Astus
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Devices Zen and the Direct Path

Post by Astus »

"Generally speaking, Zen teachers nowadays instruct people by setting up rules or using devices. believing that without devices they can't manage, behaving as if without them it's impossible to instruct anyone, they're unable to teach by simply pointing things out directly. To teach people [this way], unable to manage without devices, is 'devices Zen.'
"Others tell students pursuing this teaching that it's no good unless they rouse a great ball of doubt and succeed in breaking through it. 'No matter what,' they tell them, 'you've got to rouse a ball of doubt!' They don't teach, 'Abide in the Unborn Buddha Mind!' [but instead] cause people without any ball of doubt to saddle themselves with one, making them exchange the Buddha Mind for a ball of doubt. A mistaken business, isn't it!"

(Bankei Yotaku, tr. Peter Haskel)
1 Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?

2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.

3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.

4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.


1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
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LastLegend
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Re: Devices Zen and the Direct Path

Post by LastLegend »

Astus wrote:"Generally speaking, Zen teachers nowadays instruct people by setting up rules or using devices. believing that without devices they can't manage, behaving as if without them it's impossible to instruct anyone, they're unable to teach by simply pointing things out directly. To teach people [this way], unable to manage without devices, is 'devices Zen.'
"Others tell students pursuing this teaching that it's no good unless they rouse a great ball of doubt and succeed in breaking through it. 'No matter what,' they tell them, 'you've got to rouse a ball of doubt!' They don't teach, 'Abide in the Unborn Buddha Mind!' [but instead] cause people without any ball of doubt to saddle themselves with one, making them exchange the Buddha Mind for a ball of doubt. A mistaken business, isn't it!"

(Bankei Yotaku, tr. Peter Haskel)
If the teachers are not enlightened, they cannot teach direct path.
It’s eye blinking.
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Astus
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Re: Devices Zen and the Direct Path

Post by Astus »

LastLegend wrote:If the teachers are not enlightened, they cannot teach direct path.
Neither can they teach Zen.
1 Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?

2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.

3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.

4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.


1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
Malcolm
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Re: Devices Zen and the Direct Path

Post by Malcolm »

Astus wrote:
LastLegend wrote:If the teachers are not enlightened, they cannot teach direct path.
Neither can they teach Zen.

Guess there are not many teachers of Zen, then.
Kyosan
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Re: Devices Zen and the Direct Path

Post by Kyosan »

There is nothing wrong with using expedients/devices if it helps beings. Helping beings is what Buddhism is all about. This is explained in chapter 2 of the Lotus Sutra.
:namaste:
Last edited by Kyosan on Wed Aug 24, 2011 8:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: Devices Zen and the Direct Path

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

Hooray for Bankai! He always knew what to say.
EMPTIFUL.
An inward outlook produces outward insight.
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Astus
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Re: Devices Zen and the Direct Path

Post by Astus »

It is not that there is a problem with expedients. But Zen - unlike the other paths - is about directly seeing the nature of mind. Using methods and techniques to gradually come to realisation and instantly accessing the buddha-mind are both valid. Bankei was among those few who kept alive that tradition of Bodhidharma, Huineng, Mazu and Linji to teach the immediate way. On the other hand, Hakuin - who lived a bit later - established a gradual practice of training with koans.
1 Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?

2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.

3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.

4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.


1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
Kyosan
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Location: USA, Tucson

Re: Devices Zen and the Direct Path

Post by Kyosan »

Astus wrote:It is not that there is a problem with expedients. But Zen - unlike the other paths - is about directly seeing the nature of mind. Using methods and techniques to gradually come to realisation and instantly accessing the buddha-mind are both valid. Bankei was among those few who kept alive that tradition of Bodhidharma, Huineng, Mazu and Linji to teach the immediate way. On the other hand, Hakuin - who lived a bit later - established a gradual practice of training with koans.
I think that the teachers should use whatever methods they feel are most helpful to their students. Different teachers might have different ideas on what the most effective methods are. That's one reason why we see such a large variety of methods in Buddhism. And different methods are meant for different types of people.
:namaste:
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