Seeing Your Nature
Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2010 12:04 am
What does it mean to "see your nature"?
Bodhidharma is always saying this, e.g.; "I only talk about seeing your nature", "you must see your nature", "if you don't see your nature...", "once you see your nature...", etc..
However, food can't cook itself, the eye can't see itself, the knife can't cut itself, the camera can't take a picture of itself..... and the mind can't know itself.
Everything the mind knows is the object of its cognition, not the mind itself.
So is it correct to say to "see your nature" means to realize that "all things appearing in the three realms come from mind", to see that is what is meant by to "see your mind", i.e. to see (to realize) the workings of your mind?
It that sense it is extrapolating a mind capable of delusion from the delusion, since this "mind" itself has no appearance and cannot actually be "seen". "It's like space, it has a name but no form". But, as Bodhidharma also says;
"Through endless kalpas without beginning, whatever you do, wherever you are, that's your real mind, that's your real Buddha."
So to "see your real Buddha/mind/nature" is to simply be aware of all the objects of cognition, but don't follow them because they are false. Just know that they come from mind.
"Buddha is Sanskrit for what you call aware, miraculously aware. Responding, arching your brows blinking your eyes, moving your hands and feet, its all your miraculously aware nature. And this nature is the mind. And the mind is the Buddha. And the Buddha is the path. And the path is Zen. But the word Zen is one that remains a puzzle to both mortals and sages. Seeing your nature is Zen. Unless you see your nature, it's not Zen."
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I am mostly familiar with the Chinese Weishi school and want to clear up the wordings of Chan/Zen schools.
In Weishi there is "唯能无所"... I don't know how to translate it.. "only that which is able to produce (mind), yet no production (delusion)". But "眼不能自见,心不能自识", "the eye can't see itself, and the mind can't know itself".
While in Chan/Zen there is "见性成佛", "See the nature, become Buddha" which sounds like a subject-object construct. Unless the correct understanding is as in Weishi, and "seeing your nature" means understanding "唯能无所", "三界唯心". "Three realms, only mind".
So what does it mean "to see" your nature?
Sorry for the long wind.
Bodhidharma is always saying this, e.g.; "I only talk about seeing your nature", "you must see your nature", "if you don't see your nature...", "once you see your nature...", etc..
However, food can't cook itself, the eye can't see itself, the knife can't cut itself, the camera can't take a picture of itself..... and the mind can't know itself.
Everything the mind knows is the object of its cognition, not the mind itself.
So is it correct to say to "see your nature" means to realize that "all things appearing in the three realms come from mind", to see that is what is meant by to "see your mind", i.e. to see (to realize) the workings of your mind?
It that sense it is extrapolating a mind capable of delusion from the delusion, since this "mind" itself has no appearance and cannot actually be "seen". "It's like space, it has a name but no form". But, as Bodhidharma also says;
"Through endless kalpas without beginning, whatever you do, wherever you are, that's your real mind, that's your real Buddha."
So to "see your real Buddha/mind/nature" is to simply be aware of all the objects of cognition, but don't follow them because they are false. Just know that they come from mind.
"Buddha is Sanskrit for what you call aware, miraculously aware. Responding, arching your brows blinking your eyes, moving your hands and feet, its all your miraculously aware nature. And this nature is the mind. And the mind is the Buddha. And the Buddha is the path. And the path is Zen. But the word Zen is one that remains a puzzle to both mortals and sages. Seeing your nature is Zen. Unless you see your nature, it's not Zen."
-------
I am mostly familiar with the Chinese Weishi school and want to clear up the wordings of Chan/Zen schools.
In Weishi there is "唯能无所"... I don't know how to translate it.. "only that which is able to produce (mind), yet no production (delusion)". But "眼不能自见,心不能自识", "the eye can't see itself, and the mind can't know itself".
While in Chan/Zen there is "见性成佛", "See the nature, become Buddha" which sounds like a subject-object construct. Unless the correct understanding is as in Weishi, and "seeing your nature" means understanding "唯能无所", "三界唯心". "Three realms, only mind".
So what does it mean "to see" your nature?
Sorry for the long wind.