Talks on Zen
Talks given from 16/08/88 pm to 25/08/88 pm English Discourse series
1 You simply are2 Only a remembrance3 Look in and find it4 The inner innocence5 The sky of realisation6 Roots in the universe7 Zen is love8 From the mortal to the immortal9 Yaa-hoo! -- a living sound
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 1 You simply are 16 August 1988 pm in Gautam the Buddha Auditorium OUR BELOVED MASTER, BASUI SAID: IMAGINE A CHILD SLEEPING NEXT TO ITS PARENTS AND DREAMING IT IS BEING BEATEN OR IS PAINFULLY SICK. THE PARENTS CANNOT HELP THE CHILD, NO MATTER HOW MUCH IT SUFFERS, FOR NO ONE CAN ENTER THE DREAMING MIND OF ANOTHER. IF THE CHILD COULD AWAKEN ITSELF, IT COULD BE FREED OF THIS SUFFERING AUTOMATICALLY....
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 2 Only a remembrance 17 August 1988 pm in Gautam the Buddha Auditorium OUR BELOVED MASTER, RINZAI SAID: IF YOU MEET A BUDDHA, CUT HIM DOWN; IF YOU MEET A PATRIARCH, CUT HIM DOWN; IF YOU MEET AN ARHAT, CUT HIM DOWN; IF YOU MEET YOUR PARENTS, CUT THEM DOWN AND IF YOU MEET YOUR RELATIVES, CUT THEM DOWN. ONLY THUS WILL YOU BE LIBERATED, AND IF YOU ARE NOT HELD BY EXTERNALS, YOU WILL BE DISENGAGED AND COMFORTABLY INDEPENDENT....
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 3 Look in and find it 18 August 1988 pm in Gautam the Buddha Auditorium OUR BELOVED MASTER, SHOITSU SAID TO CHIMOKU: SINCE THE BUDDHAS AND PATRIARCHS, THERE HAVE BEEN THREE GENERAL LEVELS OF DEALING WITH PEOPLE. ON THE UPPERMOST LEVEL THERE ARE NO FURTHER TECHNIQUES, NO MEANING OF PRINCIPLE; VERBAL UNDERSTANDING IS IMPOSSIBLE. IF YOU TAKE IT UP DIRECTLY AT THIS, THEN THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE FROM “THE CYPRESS IN THE GARDEN,” “THREE POUNDS OF HEMP,” “SWALLOW THE WATER OF THE WEST RIVER IN ONE GULP....
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 4 The inner innocence 19 August 1988 pm in Gautam the Buddha Auditorium OUR BELOVED MASTER, DOKAI SAID: AS SOON AS I GET UP ON THE SEAT TO SPEAK, I AM ALREADY INVOLVED IN THE DUSTS. IF I GO ON AND FREEZE MY EYES, IT WOULD JUST SHOW A FLAW. THE SPECIAL TRANSMISSION IN A SINGLE STATEMENT IS TAKING IN A THIEF WHO RANSACKS YOUR HOUSE....
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 5 The sky of realisation 20 August 1988 pm in Gautam the Buddha Auditorium OUR BELOVED MASTER, BASUI SAID: UPON SUCH REALIZATION, QUESTION YOURSELF EVEN MORE INTENSELY IN THIS WISE: “MY BODY IS LIKE A PHANTOM, LIKE BUBBLES ON A STREAM. MY MIND, LOOKING INTO ITSELF, IS AS FORMLESS AS EMPTY SPACE, YET SOMEWHERE WITHIN, SOUNDS ARE PERCEIVED. WHO IS HEARING?” SHOULD YOU QUESTION YOURSELF IN THIS WISE, WITH PROFOUND ABSORPTION, NEVER SLACKENING THE INTENSITY OF YOUR EFFORT, YOUR RATIONAL MIND EVENTUALLY WILL EXHAUST ITSELF AND ONLY QUESTIONING AT THE DEEPEST LEVEL WILL REMAIN....
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 6 Roots in the universe 21 August 1988 pm in Gautam the Buddha Auditorium OUR BELOVED MASTER, MANZAN SAID: THE ULTIMATE WAY IS THE ONE REAL GREAT WAY. THE MIND OF FAITH IS THE NON- DUALISTIC, INCONCEIVABLE MIND. MIND AND THE WAY DO NOT DECREASE WHEN IN ILLUSION, NOR INCREASE WHEN IN ENLIGHTENMENT; EVERYTHING IS PERFECT REALITY, EACH PARTICULAR IS COMPLETE – YOU CAN’T GRASP OR REJECT ANYTHING....
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 7 Zen is love 22 August 1988 pm in Gautam the Buddha Auditorium OUR BELOVED MASTER, BASUI SAID: IF YOU WOULD FREE YOURSELF OF THE SUFFERINGS OF THE SIX REALMS, YOU MUST LEARN THE DIRECT WAY TO BECOME A BUDDHA. THIS WAY IS NO OTHER THAN THE REALIZATION OF YOUR OWN MIND. NOW, WHAT IS THIS MIND? IT IS THE TRUE NATURE OF ALL SENTIENT BEINGS, THAT WHICH EXISTED BEFORE OUR PARENTS WERE BORN AND HENCE BEFORE OUR OWN BIRTH, AND WHICH PRESENTLY EXISTS, UNCHANGEABLE AND ETERNAL....
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 8 From the mortal to the immortal 23 August 1988 pm in Gautam the Buddha Auditorium OUR BELOVED MASTER, TOZAN SAID: SUBTLY INCLUDED WITHIN THE TRUE, INQUIRY AND RESPONSE COME UP TOGETHER. COMMUNING WITH THE SOURCE AND COMMUNING WITH THE PROCESS, IT INCLUDES INTEGRATION AND INCLUDES THE ROAD. MERGING IS AUSPICIOUS. DO NOT VIOLATE IT. NATURALLY REAL, YET INCONCEIVABLE, IT IS NOT WITHIN THE PROVINCE OF DELUSION OR ENLIGHTENMENT....
< Previous | Contents CHAPTER 9 Yaa-hoo! – a living sound 25 August 1988 pm in Gautam the Buddha Auditorium OUR BELOVED MASTER, RINZAI SAID TO A MONK, “SOMETIMES, A SHOUT IS LIKE A HARD AND DURABLE JEWELED SWORD. SOMETIMES A SHOUT IS LIKE A LION, CROUCHING ON THE GROUND – STRONG AND POWERFUL. SOMETIMES A SHOUT IS LIKE A WEED-TIPPED FISHING POLE, ATTRACTING AND PROBING THE UNWARY. AND SOMETIMES A SHOUT IS NOT USED AS A SHOUT....