Tag Archives: Hui Neng

The Eye of Bodhidharma

Posted on January 1, 2024 by Vajragoni

Even if one possesses the ability to expound upon countless sutras and shastras, it is important to recognize that without directly perceiving one’s own nature, the teachings given are merely those of a mortal, not a Buddha. The true Way, the path to enlightenment, is something that transcends language and cannot be adequately expressed through words alone. In light of this, what purpose do scriptures serve? However, an individual who truly sees and understands their own nature will discover the Way, even if they are unable to read a single word. Such a person who perceives their own nature is a Buddha. read more

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The Notion of Time in Buddhism

Posted on February 17, 2020 by Vajragoni

It needs to be stressed that Buddhism takes a very different stance on the notion of time and its effect on sentient beings. In Christianity there is a triadic-understanding: a person is born at one particular junction in time-based reality, then undergoes a certain trial-based system in which he/she must perform in a moral manner to be made worthy of entering into—eternal life in which they depart from this world in order to enter eternally into God’s “heaven”. So it’s essentially going from point A to point B in a linear fashion with no other variables interfering. From the Buddhist stance, one’s purported lifespan has always been ongoing in an unending cyclic-fashion. The wheel of samsara spins in a diurnal manner and there is no escape from it since one consistently becomes reborn again and again into one of the six realms of impermanence—hence the problem is how to bring this cyclic-existence to a final and successful conclusion. In this model of time, the mind-stream of sentient beings is beginningless, quelling any notion of linear time with a predestination in mind. So for a Buddhist, linear time is not real and is non-existent (except in relative fashion). Ch’an Master Hui-neng goes even further: read more

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Autobiography: Conclusion (Part 2)

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Vajragoni

(Wong Mou-Lam) 

Upon receiving the robe and the begging bowl in the middle of the night, I told the Patriarch that, being a Southerner, I did not know the mountain tracks, and that it was impossible for me to get to the mouth of the river (to catch a boat). “You need not worry,” said he. “I will go with you.” He then accompanied me to Kiukiang, and there ordered me into a boat. As he did the rowing himself, I asked him to sit down and let me handle the oar. “It is only right for me to carry you across,” he said (an allusion to the sea of birth and death which one has to go across before the shore of Nirvana can be reached). To this I replied, “While I am under illusion, it is for you to get me across; but after enlightenment, I should cross it by myself. (Although the term ‘to go across’ is the same, it is used differently in each case). As I happen to be born on the frontier, even my speaking is incorrect in pronunciation, (but in spite of this) I have had the honor to inherit the Dharma from you. Since I am now enlightened, it is only right for me to cross the sea of birth and death myself by realizing my own Essence of Mind.” “Quite so, quite so,” he agreed. “Beginning from you the Dhyana School will become very popular. Three years after your departure from me I shall leave this world. You may start on your journey now. Go as fast as you can towards the South. Do not preach too soon, as Buddhism is not so easily spread.” After saying good-bye, I left him and walked towards the South.  read more

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Autobiography: Conclusion (Part 1)

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Vajragoni

(Yampolsky)

“At midnight the Fifth Patriarch called me into the hall and expounded the Diamond Sutra to me. Hearing it but once, I was immediately awakened, and that night I received the Dharma. None of the others knew anything about it. Then he transmitted to me the Dharma of Sudden Enlightenment and the robe, saying: ‘I make you the Sixth Patriarch. The robe is the proof and is to be handed down from generation to generation. My Dharma must be transmitted from mind to mind. You must make people awaken to themselves.’ “The Fifth Patriarch told me: ‘From ancient times the transmission of the Dharma has been as tenuous as a dangling thread. If you stay here there are people who will harm you. You must leave at once.’” read more

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The Platform Sutra: Setting the Stage

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Vajragoni

The Platform Sutra of Hui-neng is quite unlike any other; usually a sutra has as its basis a teaching directly from the Tathagata, i.e., speaking Ex Tathata. Here we have elements, directly at the beginning, of a formalized autobiographical account with subsequent sermons from a human agency in the guise of Hui-neng. His name was actually fashioned by a 8th century Ch’an monk, Shen-hui (670-762). Breaking it down, Hui=bestowing beneficence on sentient beings, and neng=having the capacity to carry out the affairs of the Buddhadharma. In point of fact, it is Shen-hui who carries the most historical weight as to the origins and early development of this sutra. The story behind the iconic-figure Hui-neng is actually a hagiography—meaning a roughly imaginative account of someone bearing the stature of a saint. Hence, it was all a manufactured history, procured for political reasons at the time. This “political component” makes the origins of this sutra all the more fascinating; indeed, the early development of Ch’an Buddhism itself hinged on political catalysts. The classic-framework for this element of intrigue concerns the Northern School of Ch’an vs. the Southern School. read more

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No form, No appearance

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Vajragoni

Twenty: No form, No appearance

“What do you think, Subhuti? Can the Tathagata be seen by means of his perfectly formed body?” read more

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