Essays from the Southwest - Chogye
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The original document was provided by Steven Newton, <snewton@oac.hsc.uth.tmc.edu> of the Southwest Chogye International Zen Academeia 1375 Bunker Hill Houston, TX 77055 English (713) 467-0998 Korean (713) 467-0997 Fax (713) 467-0998
Contents |
WHY WE BOW AND CHANT
One who bows to the Buddha-statue must correctly understand from where that Buddha-statue comes.
Let me ask you once more! Whence comes the Buddha-statue? It comes from the radiant twinkle within your own luminous eye-ball. Buddha-statue becomes your mind. Your mind be-comes Buddha-statue and is no longer divided,
Second, one who bows to the Buddha-statue must understand how to do it correctly, While bending one's body, one should direct deep sincerity, not to the statue that is the twinkle of radiance within one's own luminous eyeball, but to the "mind."
Third, one should know to what they bow. Since the Buddha-statue is no other than your mind, then bowing to the statue is bowing to the mind. How is this possible, since the mind has no form, size or trace? If one bows and prays while within the living doubt of Koan (Kong-an) practice in which the mind is totally revealed in itself, then we call this true prayer to the mind. Doing this, you are not worshiping a physical form of Buddha, the Buddha-statue, but are worshiping the true Buddha that is beyond our physical eyes. This is true worship. If, instead, one chooses the outer form of the statue, becomes attached to it, and bows to it, then, as Bodhidharma warned us, one will sow evil seeds and not only may fall into the bad karmic sequence, but may lose all virtue and merit.
It is the some when chanting the names of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. True chanting to the mind is keeping in mind the thought, 'What is this which is chanting?', whether chanting the names of Amitabha Buddha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, or Kshitigarbha Bodhisattva. In the living doubt, "What is this?" the chanter becomes more sincere, more able to see the true Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and more unhindered by the outer forms of words, names, or Buddha-statues. In this way of praying, bowing, chanting, and reading the scriptures, the Kong-an is also naturally studied simultaneously to accomplish the Great Tao.
HOW TO PRACTICE
"One way of meditation practice is consistently cutting off random, irrelevant thoughts, thereby protecting yourself from delusions. As soon as one thought arises you must destroy it immediately by being attentively alert. After random, irrelevant thought has been alertly destroyed, subsequent associations will not arise. Do not even utilize the insights gained by this alertness, because being unconcerned with both random, irrelevant thought and attentive alertness is called No-Mind."
Practice resting your thought internally.
Practice being composed, unaffected by external phenomena.
Practice being cool and chilly.
Practice letting each moment become ton thousand years.
Practice becoming like cold ashes and a lofty dead tree.
Practice being like the incense holder in an ancient temple.
Practice being like a white silk thread hanging from on high.
FAITH AND FELLOWSHIP
Let us liberate ourselves from our chains of past revenge and sore bitterness
Let us create new virtues under the mantle of wisdom, empty-minded, pure and simple-minded, patient and helping others in our each and every act.
Let us create a new world of one flower, following what the good-and-wise ones teach us to see
Let us continuously and diligently study that by which mind eye can be opened
FOUR GREAT VOWS
Ordinary-beings are innumerable I vow to liberate them all
Defilements are endless I vow to eliminate them all
Buddha's teachings are unlimited I vow to learn them all
The ways of enlightenment are supreme
I vow to achieve them all
I vow to liberate all ordinary-beings from my mind
I vow to eliminate all defilements from my mind
I vow to embrace every teaching of my self-nature
I vow to achieve the way of enlightenment from my self-nature
REPENTANCE GATHA
Sin is not real in its nature, only arising when thought arises. When mind disappears, sin will also be destroyed.
After mind disappears and sin is destroyed, then originally both are empty.
That is what is called, true repentance.
THE HEART OF THE PRAJNA PARAMITA SUTRA
The free seeing Bodhisattva of compassion, while in profound contemplation of Prajna Paramita, beheld five skandhas as empty in their being and thus crossed over all sufferings.
O-oh Sariputra, what is seen does not differ from what is empty, nor does what is empty differ from what is seen; what is seen is empty, what is empty is seen.
It is the same for sense perception, imagination, mental function and judgement.
O-oh Sariputra, all the empty forms of these dharmas neither come to be nor pass away and are not created or annihilated, not impure or pure, and cannot be increased or decreased.
Since in emptiness nothing can be seen, there is no perception, imagination, mental function or judgement.
There is no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body or consciousness. Nor are there sights, sounds, odors, tastes, objects or dharmas. There is no visu-al world, world of consciousness or other world.
There is no ignorance or extinction of ignorance and so forth down to no aging and death and also no extinction of aging and death. there is neither suffering, causation, annihilation nor path.
There is no knowing or unknowing. Since nothing can be known, Bodhisattvas rely upon Prajna Paramita and so their minds are unhindered.
Because there is no hindrance, no fear exists and they are far from inverted and illusory thought and thereby attain nirvana.
All the Buddhas in the three per-i-ods of time fully accomplish the an-nut-ta-ra-sam-yak sambod-hi by relying upon Prajna Paramita.
Therefore, Prajna Paramita is known as the most divine mantra, the great enlightening mantra, the utmost mantra, the in-com-pa-ra-ble mantra, destroyer of all suffering! since what is true is not in vain, listen to the mantra of the Prajna Paramita--it goes like this:
GATE GATE PA-RA GATE PARASAM GATE BOD-HI SVA-HA! (3 times)
REGARDING OUR FAITH
Concerning studying, what Bodhisattvas throughout the Three Different Times have studied together is This particular mind.
Concerning recollection, what all Buddhas throughout the Three Different Times have recollected Is This particular mind.
Concerning disclosure, what every single Sutra from Tripitaka has thus far disclosed is This particular mind.
Concerning confusion, what each and every ordinary being has confused is nothing but This particular mind.
Concerning realization, what all practitioners of Tao realize is This particular mind.
Concerning transmission, what all Patriarchs have transmitted one to another is This particular mind.
Concerning meditation, what all the humble students throughout the world have sought through introspective meditation is nothing but This particular mind.
If anyone masters This particular mind, every day matters will be set right and everything will be completely clear. If This particular mind is confused, everything, everywhere will be topsy-turvy and each and every thought will be insane. This particular essence abides in every ordinary being. This is our original nature of Buddhahood; It is the original spring from which everything in the world flows.
Southwest Chogye International Zen Academeia
