Essence of Chan

AlexMcLeod
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Essence of Chan

Post by AlexMcLeod »

Just for a few minutes, leave behind your intellectualizations, worries, and join me for a quick practice this Sunday afternoon.

No need to close your eyes. Just read and follow directions for a moment. No questions until you have already done the exercise.



Sit or stand upright.



Relax.





Relax.




And now, Smile from the Heart.




Just enjoy for a moment.



There. Now go back to your bickering if you wish.
Relax! Smile From The Heart!
There is a difference between the Mundane and the Transcendental. If you purposefully confuse them, I will ignore you, you nihilist.
There is no Emotion, there is Peace. There is no Ignorance, there is Knowledge. There is no Passion, there is Serenity. There is no Death, there is the Force.
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dharmagoat
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Re: Essence of Chan

Post by dharmagoat »

I doubt that is the "essence of Chan", so much as invoking a moment of bliss. But there is already a thread on that.
AlexMcLeod
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Re: Essence of Chan

Post by AlexMcLeod »

No, I have included a little something extra for those that do not already know how to enter the Chan state of mind. I am attempting to transmit via words. I know the energy will translate through the internet. Just sending skill as well this time. I'm confident it will work.
Relax! Smile From The Heart!
There is a difference between the Mundane and the Transcendental. If you purposefully confuse them, I will ignore you, you nihilist.
There is no Emotion, there is Peace. There is no Ignorance, there is Knowledge. There is no Passion, there is Serenity. There is no Death, there is the Force.
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dharmagoat
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Re: Essence of Chan

Post by dharmagoat »

"Rest in the moment between thoughts."
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Astus
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Re: Essence of Chan

Post by Astus »

AlexMcLeod wrote:enter the Chan state of mind
Chan mind is no mind. Whatever state it is, it is conditioned and impermanent. Therefore, the instruction has always been not to abide in any state.
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"
AlexMcLeod
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Re: Essence of Chan

Post by AlexMcLeod »

That may be, but how do you get there? One sure-fire way to do so is to start with the instructions above.

Then, even joy will fall away into peace.
Relax! Smile From The Heart!
There is a difference between the Mundane and the Transcendental. If you purposefully confuse them, I will ignore you, you nihilist.
There is no Emotion, there is Peace. There is no Ignorance, there is Knowledge. There is no Passion, there is Serenity. There is no Death, there is the Force.
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Astus
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Re: Essence of Chan

Post by Astus »

AlexMcLeod wrote:That may be, but how do you get there? One sure-fire way to do so is to start with the instructions above.
It can be a start, but it's more like the middle part if it's about gradual instructions. But it's hardly Chan, much less its essence.
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"
White Lotus
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Re: Essence of Chan

Post by White Lotus »

yes... the essence of ch'an!
no... not the essence of ch'an!

if i hold to non judgement, it is truly the essence of ch'an.
if i use discrimination, it is not.

instantaneous, against gradual.

free to play with either, but unable to abide in either.

no attainment or to attain loss of self conceit and extinction (without becoming extinct).

best wishes, Tom.
in any matters of importance. dont rely on me. i may not know what i am talking about. take what i say as mere speculation. i am not ordained. nor do i have a formal training. i do believe though that if i am wrong on any point. there are those on this site who i hope will quickly point out my mistakes.
muni
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Re: Essence of Chan

Post by muni »

"Rest in the moment between thoughts."
Ah!
if i hold to non judgement, it is truly the essence of ch'an.
if i use discrimination, it is not.
no attainment or to attain loss of self-conceit and extinction (without becoming extinct).

Our suffering of self-conceit, slave of grasping to own projections; judging own biased perception... This indeed must not be the essence of Ch'an, or the meaning of Buddhism.

:heart: :buddha1:
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seeker242
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Re: Essence of Chan

Post by seeker242 »

Astus wrote:
AlexMcLeod wrote:That may be, but how do you get there? One sure-fire way to do so is to start with the instructions above.
It can be a start, but it's more like the middle part if it's about gradual instructions. But it's hardly Chan, much less its essence.
So then what is the essence of chan?
One should not kill any living being, nor cause it to be killed, nor should one incite any other to kill. Do never injure any being, whether strong or weak, in this entire universe!
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Astus
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Re: Essence of Chan

Post by Astus »

seeker242 wrote:So then what is the essence of chan?
"since the past this teaching of ours has first taken nonthought (wunian 無念) as its central doctrine (zong 宗), the formless (wuxiang 無相) as its essence (ti 體), and nonabiding (wuzhu 無住) as its fundamental (ben 本)."
(Platform Sutra, ch 4, BDK Edition, p 43)
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"
AlexMcLeod
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Re: Essence of Chan

Post by AlexMcLeod »

Maybe I was a little too ambitious about what could be conveyed and understood over the internet. Let me try again, but first I'll lay the groundwork. I'll make a new thread for that though.
Relax! Smile From The Heart!
There is a difference between the Mundane and the Transcendental. If you purposefully confuse them, I will ignore you, you nihilist.
There is no Emotion, there is Peace. There is no Ignorance, there is Knowledge. There is no Passion, there is Serenity. There is no Death, there is the Force.
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Alex123
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Re: Essence of Chan

Post by Alex123 »

Hello Astus, all,
Astus wrote: Chan mind is no mind. Whatever state it is, it is conditioned and impermanent. Therefore, the instruction has always been not to abide in any state.
What is the exact difference between abiding in a certain state, vs not abiding in that state?



Thanks,

Alex
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Astus
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Re: Essence of Chan

Post by Astus »

Alex123 wrote:What is the exact difference between abiding in a certain state, vs not abiding in that state?
Whether one adds the idea that makes a state one's identity, considering it an actual state, existence, being; or not.

Good friends, one’s enlightenment (one’s Way, dao) must flow freely. How could it be stagnated? When the mind does not reside in the dharmas, one’s enlightenment flows freely. For the mind to reside in the dharmas is called ‘fettering oneself.’ If you say that always sitting without moving is it, then you’re just like Śāriputra meditating in the forest, for which he was scolded by Vimalakīrti!
...
Nonabiding is to consider in one’s fundamental nature that all worldly [things] are empty, with no consideration of retaliation—whether good or evil, pleasant or ugly, and enemy or friend, etc., during times of words, fights, and disputation.
Within continuing moments of thought one should not think of the previous [mental] realm. If one thinks of the previous thought, the present thought, and the later thought, one’s thoughts will be continuous without cease. This is called ‘fettered.’ If one’s thoughts do not abide in the dharmas, this is to be ‘unfettered.’ Thus it is that nonabiding is taken as the fundamental.

(Platform Sutra, ch 4, BDK Edition, p 43)
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"
AlexMcLeod
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Re: Essence of Chan

Post by AlexMcLeod »

Alex123 wrote:What is the exact difference between abiding in a certain state, vs not abiding in that state?
The difference between holding onto a pencil, and letting it go.
Relax! Smile From The Heart!
There is a difference between the Mundane and the Transcendental. If you purposefully confuse them, I will ignore you, you nihilist.
There is no Emotion, there is Peace. There is no Ignorance, there is Knowledge. There is no Passion, there is Serenity. There is no Death, there is the Force.
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Matt J
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Re: Essence of Chan

Post by Matt J »

I tuned into this last Saturday, and was not disappointed. It's a good chance to ask questions to a teacher in a small group.

http://www.cosmoschan.org/news/2016-05-27-new-meetings/
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White Lotus
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Re: Essence of Chan

Post by White Lotus »

the essence of chan is to know that you are awake.
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Alex123
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Re: Essence of Chan

Post by Alex123 »

AlexMcLeod wrote:
Alex123 wrote:What is the exact difference between abiding in a certain state, vs not abiding in that state?
The difference between holding onto a pencil, and letting it go.
In order to let go of a pencil, you need to grab it first.

Secondly, how does one "release" a thought, or even better, prevent thoughts of hate, etc from arising?

:anjali:
Alex
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Saoshun
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Re: Essence of Chan

Post by Saoshun »

Essence of chan is destiny and nature.
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Dan74
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Re: Essence of Chan

Post by Dan74 »

The essence of Chan is seeing the Buddha nature and attaining liberation, AFAIU.
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