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BSPG News and Meeting (No. 181)
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Edited by Stony Brook Buddhism Study and Practice GroupNews
1. There is no meeting this week.
2. A few of us will be going to the Chan Meditation Center on Sunday 5/19 for Buddha's birthday celebration. If you would like to go together, please e-mail: buddhism@ic.sunysb.eduMeeting
No meeting this week.Words from the Suttas/Sutras
Then the Blessed One spoke to the Venerable Ananda, saying: "Enough, Ananda! Do not grieve, do not lament! For have I not taught from the very beginning that with all that is dear and beloved there must be change, separation, and severance? Of that which is born, come into being, compounded, and subject to decay, how can one say: 'May it not come to dissolution!'? There can be no such state of things. Now for a long time, Ananda, you have served the Tathagata with loving-kindness in deed, word, and thought, graciously, pleasantly, with a whole heart and beyond measure. Great good have you gathered, Ananda! Now you should put forth energy, and soon you too will be free from the taints. -- Digha Nikaya 16, Maha-parinibbana SuttaQuote of the Week
"In Buddhism we speak of 'ignorance without beginning.' The concept of 'without beginning' is something that is unique to Buddhism. In general, philosophies and religions speak of a 'first beginning,' but Buddhism does not. Buddhism speaks of 'beginningless'. When people ask, 'Where does this beginningless come from?' Shakyamuni Budhha himself chose to remain silent and give no reply. How could I dare to try to answer it? To try to address this question intellectually is a trap."--Master Sheng-yenBook Review: Ch’an and Zen Teaching, Volume 2 by Charles Luk (Lu K'uan Yu)
by D. K.“The master asked a monk, ‘Where do you come from?’ The monk replied, ‘Yu Chou.’ The master said, ‘I would like some news from Yu Chou; what is the price of rice there?’ The monk replied, ‘When I left, I unintentionally passed through the market place, stepped on a bridge and broke it.’ Thereupon, the master stopped talking.” (p. 77)
Does this passage have any meaning? If so, do we understand its significance? If we have never encountered a record of a conversation between a chan master and a disciple, upon seeing this passage, we may think that it’s strange or even useless to read. If we have experience with reading old chan texts, we may think that we fully grasp the meaning, “Well, it’s like this, the bridge signifies…” and likewise think that it’s useless to read twice. Yet, however we view the meaning of a chan master’s words, we should be humble and know that the intention behind the speech—the real meaning behind the question and answer—is inconceivable. It is this principle that we must investigate and come to understand on our own—without the devices of cleverly stitched words and theories.
What is this principle behind the often cryptic verbiage of the enlightened masters? ‘Who wants to know?’In Volume 2 of Chan and Zen Teaching, Charles Luk wonderfully translates the stories of the founders of the 5 Chan sects. Therein, he provides a treasure of countless meaningful and direct dialogues, many which occur between master and disciple, student and student, and sage and another—all pointing to the essential meaning and heart of Chan. Included in this volume is also the 40 transmission gathas of numerous Buddhas and Patriarchs, which are the phrases uttered as each Dharma teacher confided in their student the true understanding of Buddhadharma.
What is the essence of Buddhadharma? If I were able to tell, I would. But we can be content enough to read of the examples of our predecessors, of how each student—often caught in the riddling of the confused mind—was shown the way out of the ups and downs of birth and death, the scattered and dreaming mind of attachment.
“The ancients used very few technical terms to cause their disciples awakenings. They just pointed at the mind and the students immediately understood the ultimate aim without, like us, giving rise to discriminations and discernings, their faith in the teaching being also boundless.”
The faith in the teaching is thus a faith in our own nature, which is originally without dualism and the obsessive habit of conceptually dividing reality into parts and pieces. Chan is thus expressed in this book as an undivided whole. The stories of the Chan masters urgently and directly express the most important thing to grasp of the Buddhadharma, the realization of our mind.
Each page of this volume is an expression of this direct understanding, and it has given me great faith to know that it is unnecessary to revolve thoughts over and over in an attempt to crack the mystery of who I am and what is enlightenment. It is enough to follow the example that the Patriarchs set when they say, ‘Who is asking the question?’ This honest inquisitiveness and earnest investigation into our own mind is the path and goal.
Enlightenment is then not such a big deal, not anything to obsessively search for. Chan master Baizhang Huaihai said to his disciple Wei Shan upon Wei Shan’s small realization, “There is no dharma, and there is no mind.” Enlightenment is our natural state of openness, and therefore nothing to be excited about. In practice, it is enough to continually be familiar with this natural mind—nothing more, nothing less.
Hui Neng said, “Learned friends, your self-nature is great because it can contain all things. As all things are contained in it, if all good men and bad men are viewed with neither like nor dislike, also without being contaminated by them, the mind which is like space is called great mind.” (page 17)
From this great mind arises compassion, and the motivation to help others be rid of their suffering. Ch’an and Zen Teaching Volume 2 is thus a record of the many expedient methods that our compassionate teachers have used to untie the bonds of our attachment.
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