An Interesting Book to share

[Bruce]

"Banned in Tibet, forgotten in China, the Tibetan tradition of Zen was almost completely lost to us. According to Tibetan histories, Zen teachers were invited to Tibet from China in the 8th century, at the height of the Tibetan Empire. When doctrinal disagreements developed between Indian and Chinese Buddhists at the Tibetan court, the Tibetan emperor called for a formal debate. When the debate resulted in a decisive win by the Indian side, the Zen teachers were sent back to China, and Zen was gradually forgotten in Tibet. This picture changed at the beginning of the 20th century with the discovery in Dunhuang (in Chinese Central Asia) of a sealed cave full of manuscripts in various languages dating from the first millennium CE. The Tibetan manuscripts, dating from the 9th and 10th centuries, are the earliest surviving examples of Tibetan Buddhism. Among them are around 40 manuscripts containing original Tibetan Zen teachings.

This book translates the key texts of Tibetan Zen preserved in Dunhuang. The book is divided into ten sections, each containing a translation of a Zen text illuminating a different aspect of the tradition, with brief introductions discussing the roles of ritual, debate, lineage, and meditation in the early Zen tradition. Van Schaik not only presents the texts but also explains how they were embedded in actual practices by those who used them."

[Norwegian]

Your link does not appear in your post.

Edit: I copypasted the Amazon URL, and I got nothing showing up in my post as well. Seems to be a DW bug. I'm splitting the URL so that it will be visible (copy URL without space after the dot):

https://www.amazon. com/Tibetan-Zen-Discovering-Lost-Tradition/dp/1559394463/

[Lindama]

I remember this being discussed on zfi.

not so strange for me.... I know zen and Tibetan teachers who have taught together.... I was there. They offered a collaboration of their traditions... not so diff and yet we can learn from each other. We need more of this IMO.

[Fortyeightvows]

We need more of this IMO.

https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapt ... -sheng-yen

Venerable Master Sheng Yen: How long can the individual maintain this state of clear light and perceive the nature of emptiness? Does this experience gradually fade away? Does the individual still have afflictions? How does this experience effect his sleep?

His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Using Dzogchen terminology when they talk about the clear light nature of mind they are actually talking about an essential quality of consciousness which is continuous so long as consciousness retains its continuity this clear light would also maintain its continuity. So long as there is water the clarity of water’s nature will remain. Sometimes the water gets muddied and at such times one does not see the clarity of the water’s essential nature. In order to perceive the clear nature of the water one just need to let it be still. Similarly whether one is in a virtuous thought or a non-virtuous thought one is still in a state of mind both of which are pervaded by the clear light nature. From the point of view of the practice of trying to experience the clear light both virtuous and non-virtuous thoughts are obstructions. Emphasis is placed on trying to still one’s consciousness by stopping the thought process both virtuous and non-virtuous so that one can experience the clear light.

[Lindama]

Thanks for this Fortyeightvows,
I will spend time with this tomorrow... just what you quoted opens the field... I always did a double take, relating to clear light and then hearing the talk about vexations. I suspect it's partly the languaging... yet it's a diff orientation too. Zen expresses it as "one bright pearl" for me.

In the beginning, I saw the Dalai Lama in the 80's in San Jose, large auditorium talking about the clear light... I had never heard the words and had no ideas about Buddhism but let them sink in, not understanding but a whiff. My early experiences were Dzogchen but I could never travel. Lama Yeshe's thin book fell off the shelf before I knew anything.... felt the connection. mysterious bec I never studied any of it. Instead, I had many good years at my local zendo with secret trips to Berkeley and the Tibetans... never to talk about one with the other. I'm happy to see this dialog with Master Sheng Yen and the Dalai Lama. I was starting to have a sense of Master Shen Yen thru zfi and Guo Gu. Seems that a good tradition is designed to move beyond it, if we dare.

It's been 30+ years since I connected with Lama Yeshe, it was non-rational and I can't remember why if I ever knew... but the impress remains... as with a few others.

thanks again, I would never have understood this dialog back then...

linda

We need more of this IMO.

https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapt ... -sheng-yen

Venerable Master Sheng Yen: How long can the individual maintain this state of clear light and perceive the nature of emptiness? Does this experience gradually fade away? Does the individual still have afflictions? How does this experience effect his sleep?

His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Using Dzogchen terminology when they talk about the clear light nature of mind they are actually talking about an essential quality of consciousness which is continuous so long as consciousness retains its continuity this clear light would also maintain its continuity. So long as there is water the clarity of water’s nature will remain. Sometimes the water gets muddied and at such times one does not see the clarity of the water’s essential nature. In order to perceive the clear nature of the water one just need to let it be still. Similarly whether one is in a virtuous thought or a non-virtuous thought one is still in a state of mind both of which are pervaded by the clear light nature. From the point of view of the practice of trying to experience the clear light both virtuous and non-virtuous thoughts are obstructions. Emphasis is placed on trying to still one’s consciousness by stopping the thought process both virtuous and non-virtuous so that one can experience the clear light.