#huatou

[errantabbot]

The longer I consciously walk the spiritual path, the more appreciation I gain for the Zen tenet of “great doubt.” Fixed views, which can also be called conceptions, are at the root of all suffering. Only in forgoing conceptions can we (literally) enter into the unknown.

~Sunyananda

[sourceofthestream]

Two Chan/Zen monks argued over whether a flag or wind ultimately moves. In Engaged Buddhism, what about the winds that spread fires or the flags behind which people build a national identity opposed to those who are deemed "other"? Mind is moving! More at: https://unityinplurality.blogspot.com/2019/10/mind-is-moving.html

[walk-with-anubis]

One of the books I got in the mail today

[ox-head]

This method is not meant for you to think about the meaning of a kung-an as if the kung-an were a question for intellectual solution. Speaking of the hua-t’ou method, [Dahui Zonggao] taught his disciples to kill the “sneaky mind” with a cold-blooded hand. According to him, the first principle of Ch’an practice is to empty one’s mind. One must first paste the two words “life-death” on the forehead, and regard them as seriously as if one owed a debt of a million taels. In day or night, while drinking or eating, traveling or staying at home, sitting or lying, entertaining friends, in a quiet moment or at a noisy hour, you must hold on to the hua-t’ou.

憨山德清 (Hanshan Deqing), Hanshan dashi mengyou ji

[freeandeasywandering]

Sheng Yen, Shattering the Great Doubt

Sheng Yen, Shattering the Great Doubt

I have been practicing Chan Buddhismfor over a decade, but diligently only in the last few years. I’d say rather that for a long time I had periods of diligence that over time grew shorter and shorter, until at one point I stopped practicing. It soon enough became clear to me that I needed the practice in my life, I started up again, and while I’m still far from a perfect practitioner I am…

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