zen daily life

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seeker242
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Re: zen daily life

Post by seeker242 »

Astus wrote:
seeker242 wrote:What exactly is the "buddha mind"? Does "Buddha mind" have a need to go trudging through past and projecting into the future? Why does the mind go trudging into the past and projecting into the future to begin with? Is it not grasping that causes that very activity to begin with? Why would a mind with no grasping need to conjure up the past or make some ideas about the future?
Buddha-mind is the fundamental knowing awareness that is empty of all substances but full of all functions. Thoughts about past, present and future things are all workings of normal thinking, otherwise one cannot either eat or shit, not to mention more complex deeds. What makes the difference between freedom and bondage is whether there is attachment to reified views about self and objects or not.
I would agree with that but at the same time, someone with a buddha mind does not walk down the street worrying about what will happen or not happen tomorrow or keep carrying yesterday with them. When they are walking down the street, their mind is right there with them, in the "present moment", just walking down the street. That is what "being in the present moment" means. To not be worrying about the future and carrying the past, both of which are clinging and attachment. :smile:
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: zen daily life

Post by Astus »

Hope and fear, wish and worry, these are emotional troubles. But thinking about past and future events are just thoughts. Walking down the street, if one has no knowledge and perception of the direction, it's called being lost.
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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seeker242
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Re: zen daily life

Post by seeker242 »

Astus wrote:Hope and fear, wish and worry, these are emotional troubles. But thinking about past and future events are just thoughts. Walking down the street, if one has no knowledge and perception of the direction, it's called being lost.
Yes thinking about future events are just thoughts. However, not all thoughts are equals. Thinking about what you need to buy at the store to make dinner is very different than worrying incessantly, with the accompanying mental chattering (thinking), about what you want or don't want to happen tomorrow. One is suffering and the other isn't. One is attachment/craving the other isn't. These are two very different kinds of past/future thinking. "Present moment awareness" means to practice not engaging in the 2nd kind. "Present moment awareness" means to practice not attaching and letting go of craving. Not all past/future thinking is equal as some is directly caused by craving/attachment itself. By engaging in this kind of thinking, you are engaging in craving. In zen practice, we practice not doing that. So to practice "Present moment awareness" is quite appropriate because it subdues the furthering and increasing of craving/attachment. People don't trip and fall on the curb because they got lost. They fall and trip on the curb because they weren't paying attention to what they were doing. They fall and trip on the curb because their mind was was not "in the present moment" but because it was off in the past or the future.
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!
White Lotus
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Re: zen daily life

Post by White Lotus »

how are you today?
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.
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Wesley1982
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Re: zen daily life

Post by Wesley1982 »

I'm grateful and thankful to be able to have the liberty and time to do this.
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