Bodhidharma's Discourse on the Twofold Entrance to the Tao (from The Golden Age of Zen by John C.H. Wu): There are many roads leading to the Tao, but essentially they can be subsumed under two categories. The one is 'Entrance by way of Reason,' and the other 'Entrance by the way of Conduct.' By 'Entrance by way of Reason' we mean the understanding of the fundamental doctrines through the study of the scriptures, the realization, upon the basis of a deep-rooted faith, that all sentient beings have in common the one True Nature, which does not manifest itself clearly in all cases only because it is overwrapped by external objects and false thoughts. If a man abandons the false and returns to the true, resting single-heartedly and undistractedly in pure contemplation, he will realize that there is neither self nor other, that the holy and profane are of one essence. If he holds on firmly to this belief and never swerves from it, he will never again ...
http://www.theravadin.org/2009/02/13/mindfulness-is-not-sati/ Mindfulness is not Sati? FEBRUARY 13, 2009 / 23 COMMENTS /20389 VIEWS Many people (especially those who intensively try to put the Buddhas eightfold path into practice) have thought about the meaning of samma sati or “right mindfulness”. In fact, the meaning of this important aspect of Buddhist practice had troubled me for a long time 🙂 (1) The problem occurs when we start looking closer at the oldest Buddhist scriptures available, the Pali texts and look for the meaning and connotations of this important Buddhist term. Before we begin, however, a very short introductory remark: Why is ‘sati’ so important with regard to the path to Nibbana? Because it is at the center core of the entire Buddhist meditation : “Now what is concentration, lady, what is its topic, what are its requisites, and what is its development” “Singleness of mind is concentration, friend Visakha; the four foundations of...
There is a well-known story of the Honorable Sixth Patriarch, Venerable Master Hui Neng, regarding the movements of many thoughts which I would like to introduce to you. The Venerable Hui Neng lived in the seventh and early eighth century, and he received the Dharma transmission from his master, the Venerable Fifth Patriarch, Hung Yen. While Hui Neng was still a layman pounding rice in the monastery, he was called to the room of the Abbot Hung Yen. The Fifth Patriarch expounded the Diamond Sutra to Hui Neng. When he came to the words "One should use your mind in such as way that it will be free from attachment," Hui Neng was greatly enlightened. Seeing into his nature, and realizing the essence of mind. The Fifth Patriarch then told Hui Neng, "You are now the Sixth Patriarch, please help as many sentient beings as possible. S...
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