What truth am I talking about?
I am talking about truth of the ground of mind,
which can enter into the ordinary and the sacred,
into the pure and the polluted,
into the absolute and the conventional,
and yet is not the absolute,
conventional, ordinary, and sacred,
but is able to give names to all the absolute,
conventional, ordinary, and sacred.
Someone who has realized this
cannot be labeled by the absolute
or the conventional, by the ordinary or sacred.
If you can grasp it, then use it,
without labeling it any more.
This is called the mystic teaching.
~ Lin Chi (d 867)
@rookie54 saidLin Chi for the win!
What truth am I talking about?
I am talking about truth of the ground of mind,
which can enter into the ordinary and the sacred,
into the pure and the polluted,
into the absolute and the conventional,
and yet is not the absolute,
conventional, ordinary, and sacred,
but is able to give names to all the absolute,
conventional, ordinary, and sacred.
Someone who has r ...[text shortened]... hen use it,
without labeling it any more.
This is called the mystic teaching.
~ Lin Chi (d 867)
If he were here today, I would present him with:
a nice bowl of noodles
with a boiled egg and some cabbage
and a bottle of fried-chicken flavor soda
When we reach the ultimate stillness,
We joyfully become
Aware that this mind of ours
Is empty, without any things,
And extends infinitely in all
Directions.
It is something
Like the eternal sky,
In which clouds and wind circulate
Without stopping or reaching an end.
It is something like the vast ocean,
Where fish and dragons undergo
Transformations without gaps
Of interruptions.
It has no inside or outside that can
Be pointed to, no motion or
Stillness that can be separated.
From ancient to modern, it all forms
A single whole.
As the saying goes,
It is nowhere
And everywhere.
~ Luo Hongxian (1504-1564)
@rookie54 saidWhat the hell, Muso?
In the awakened eye
Mountains and rivers
Completely disappear.
The eye of delusion
Looks out upon
Deep fog and clouds
Alone on my zazen mat
I forget the days
As they pass
The wisteria has grow
Thick over the eaves
Of my hut.
~ Muso (1275-1351)
Sounds like you tried to inflict some kind of mental glaucoma upon yourself.
Clouding your eyes in search of some imaginary truth.
The mountains and rivers are still there and here,
and all the other things you would rather not have seen.
Mountains and rivers bad, but
Mat and wisteria and hut good?
I'm sorry to learn of your struggles, and to imagine
the circumstances that might have driven you there.
@Kevin-Eleven said:
Maybe it's important to mention someone's
observation that I read somewhere:
schizophrenics tend toward the occult;
depressives tend toward mysticism.
Gosh!
@divegeester
Little brother, it's good to think that perhaps you might learn something from me.
@kevin-eleven saidHappy to support whatever vibe it is which lifts you from the Slough of Despond.
@divegeester
Little brother, it's good to think that perhaps you might learn something from me.
The world is unstable,
like a house on fire.
This is not a place
where you stay long.
The murderous haunt
of impermanence
comes upon you in a flash,
no matter whether you are rich or poor,
old or young.
If you want to be no different
from a Zen master or a buddha,
just do not seek outwardly.
~ Lin Chi (d 867)
@rookie54 saidAlso, do not seek inwardly.
The world is unstable,
like a house on fire.
This is not a place
where you stay long.
The murderous haunt
of impermanence
comes upon you in a flash,
no matter whether you are rich or poor,
old or young.
If you want to be no different
from a Zen master or a buddha,
just do not seek outwardly.
~ Lin Chi (d 867)
There is no "inwardly".
-- Mandibles Crouton de Mers (2022)
@divegeester saidNo need to support a vibe.
Happy to support whatever vibe it is which lifts you from the Slough of Despond.
Vibes vibe in their own way.
You've reminded me of Bunyan.
An interesting writer of his time.
@rookie54 saidOh good grief, Muso.
In the awakened eye
Mountains and rivers
Completely disappear.
The eye of delusion
Looks out upon
Deep fog and clouds
Alone on my zazen mat
I forget the days
As they pass
The wisteria has grow
Thick over the eaves
Of my hut.
~ Muso (1275-1351)
If, in the awakened eye,
Mountains and rivers
Completely disappear,
Then what of yourself
And your mat of which you speak?
Is wisteria less fictional
Than the eaves of your hut?
@kevin-eleven saidWhen I was young I was fascinated by Pilgrims Progress.
No need to support a vibe.
Vibes vibe in their own way.
You've reminded me of Bunyan.
An interesting writer of his time.