Tag Archives: neti

Forget about Neti, Neti

A tool like neti, neti is only a preliminary exercise in deconstructing dualities. But it’s not an end-tool in itself. The same principle applies regarding the four negations.  It’s all about indivisibility. In the end either shit or get off the pot. There is no shit or not shit…just shitting. To do anything less will get one into serious trouble. There is a story about a robust Zen Master who was constipated. To help him a disciple went to a drugstore to investigate how to alleviate the problem. The pharmacist gave the disciple a drug that would help. “Have him take two pills daily. If this doesn’t help let me know.” The disciple returned the next day and said, “Great Zen Master, no shit.” So the pharmacist suggested taking three pills a day. The disciple returned again the next day stating, “Great Zen Master, no shit”. The pharmacist finally suggested, “Have him take all the remaining pills.” The disciple returned the next day with a forlorn expression on his face. The pharmacist inquired, “Well, did it work?” The disciple answered sadly, “Great Big Shit, no Zen Master!” read more

Posted in The Afterglow | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Choose Not…

The Way of the Unborn is not burdensome
Just let-go of partiality
Be neither positive nor negative
Stay illumined
If you are off by a hairsbreadth
Nirvana and samsara are infinitely divided read more

Posted in Hsin Hsin Ming | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Neti, Neti

4. Bloodstream Sermon, Part 3

And this mind, through endless kalpas without beginning, has never varied. It has never lived or died, appeared or disappeared, increased or decreased. Its not pure or impure, good or evil, past or future. It’s not true or false. It’s not male or female. It doesn’t appear as a monk or a layman, an elder or a novice, a sage or a fool, a Buddha or a mortal. It strives for no realization and suffers no karma. It has no strength or form. It’s like space. You can’t possess it and you can’t lose it. Its movements can’t be blocked by mountains, rivers, or rock walls. Its unstoppable powers penetrate the Mountain of Five Skandhas and cross the River of Samsara.” No karma can restrain this real body. But this mind is subtle and hard to see. It’s not the same as the sensual mind. Everyone wants to see this mind, and those who move their hands and feet by its light are as many as the grains of sand along the Ganges, but when you ask them, they can’t explain it. They’re like puppets. It’s theirs to use… It’s also called the Unstoppable Tathagata, the Incomprehensible, the Sacred Self, the Immortal, the Great Sage. Its names vary but not its essence. Buddhas vary too, but none leaves his own mind. The mind’s capacity is limitless, and its manifestations are inexhaustible. read more

Posted in The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma, Zen | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment