22. “The Bodhisattva’s mind is like the void, for he relinquishes everything and does not even desire to accumulate merits. There are three kinds of relinquishment. When everything inside and outside, bodily and mental, has been relinquished; when, as in the Void, no attachments are left; when all action is dictated purely by place and circumstance; when subjectivity and objectivity are forgotten–that is the highest form of relinquishment. When, on the one hand, the Way is followed by the performance of virtuous acts; while, on the other, relinquishment of merit takes place and no hope of reward is entertained–that is the medium form of relinquishment. When all sorts of virtuous actions are performed in the hope of reward by those who, nevertheless, know of the Void by hearing the Dharma and who are therefore unattached-that is the lowest form of relinquishment. The first is like a blazing torch held to the front which makes it impossible to mistake the path; the second is like a blazing torch held to one side, so that it is sometimes light and sometimes dark; the third is like a blazing torch held behind, so that pitfalls in front are not seen.1”
1 These three types of relinquishment probably refer obliquely to Zen, Mahayana and Hinayana respectively
23. “Thus, the mind of the Bodhisattva is like the Void and everything is relinquished by it. When thoughts of the past cannot be taken hold of, that is relinquishment of the past. When thoughts of the present cannot be taken hold of, that is relinquishment of the present. When thoughts of the future cannot be taken hold of, that is relinquishment of the future. This is called utter relinquishment of Triple Time. Since the Tathagata entrusted Kasyapa with the Dharma until now, Mind has been transmitted with Mind, and these Minds have been identical. A transmission of Void cannot be made through words. A transmission in concrete terms cannot be the Dharma. Thus Mind is transmitted with Mind and these Minds do not differ. Transmitting and receiving transmission are both a most difficult kind of mysterious understanding, so that few indeed have been able to receive it. In fact, however, Mind is not Mind and transmission is not really transmission.1”
1 This is a reminder that ALL terms used in Zen are mere makeshifts.
Numerologists and New Agers are having a field-day with today’s calendar falling as 12-12-12. Sources indicate that today is “the last major numerical date using the Gregorian or Christian calendar for almost another century. The next time three numbers will align as they did on 9-9-09, 10-10-10 and 11-11-11 will be on Jan. 1, 3001, or 1-1-1.” Due to this numerological wonder, many assert that today is a most auspicious occasion—something quite extraordinary should sprout-afoot! New Agers go even one step further and predict that today some form of “energy-portals” will miraculously appear from somewhere “other” to further the evolution of man’s consciousness, something they refer to as the Ascension. They may have had a point, but for one thing…whatever kind of new-energy-associations that manifest in the created order have very little to do with the far greater inner-transformation on the spiritual plane that needs to occur for true transformational stuff to occur. The two above “twin” sections of Huang Po can help to steer us in an authentic spiritual-direction. The Bodhisattva’s mind is One with Mind and is therefore void of any kind of phenomenal manifestations, along with any “accumulated merit” that is somehow associated with furthering the evolution of the quest for spiritual emancipation. This serves as a striking reminder that any mark of merited advancement alone does not serve the true path to awakening in the One Mind—a Self-Realization that is in fact hindered if any form of meritorization is instituted in place of THAT Self-Alone relinquishment of “any-thing inside and outside” that attempts to usurp Its rightful Mind-Inheritance in the Unborn. All other forms of relinquishment, says Huang Po, are just wishy-washy attempts that hinder one’s advancement along the path to this True Self-Mind Recollection. In this sense, the Mind of the Maha-Bodhisattva is the Void that relinquishes any “other” attempts of luke-warm emancipation. This includes, says the Master, the Three-Times (past, present, future)—in fact ALL time representations (12-12-12 as well). He sums up these twin-sections by indicating once again that this is no form of mind-thing transmission; thus any-thing that apparently is “transmitted” (this would include those new age revelations of some kind of Super-Energy-Transmission) cannot be called the Buddhadharma—THAT is, indeed, a Wordless (which includes any form of thingness in the created order) Transmission bearing no karmic-seed associations of any form and non-form. He even goes so far as to throw a monkey-wrench into the minds of the lesser-able who attempt to perceive some kind of Mind-thing that gets transmitted. Hence, there is no-form of transmission that transmits any-thing, including Mind as representative of an objective-subjective thing. All is Mind AS IT IS and No-thing else need apply that attempts to claim any resume of emancipatory know-how.