Zen Talking

r/zen is a reddit forum about Zen scholarship, study, and practice.

Reddit Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/12c0d8k/yunju_is_going_to_the_monks_hall/

Post Summary:

Dongshan went up to the hall and said, "There is a person who, in the midst of a thousand or even ten thousand people, neither turns his back on nor faces a single person. Now you tell me, what face does this person have?" Yunju came forward and said, "I am going to the Monk's Hall."

Zen Teaching:

Post Cast Overview: What are they talking about? Why is this an answer? What's a Buddha to do?

https://www.reddit.com/r/zensangha/wiki/ewk/4pillarszen/#wiki_2nd_pillar_.2013_chih.2019s_nothing_seen

A monk asked Chih of Yun-chu of the eighth century, 'What is meant by seeing into one's Self-nature and becoming a Buddha?'

Chih: 'This Nature is from the first pure and undefiled, serene and undisturbed. It belongs to no categories of duality such as being and non-being, pure and defiled, long and short, taking-in and giving-up; the Body remains in its suchness. To have a clear insight into this is to see into one's Self-nature. Self-nature is the Buddha, and the Buddha is Self-nature. Therefore, seeing into one's Self-nature is becoming the Buddha.'

Monk: 'If Self-nature is pure, and belongs to no categories of duality such as being and non-being, etc., where does this seeing take place ? '

Chih: 'There is a seeing, but nothing seen.'

Monk: 'If there is nothing seen, how can we say that there is any seeing at all?'

Chih: 'In fact there is no trace of seeing.'

Monk: 'In such a seeing, whose seeing is it?'

Chih: 'There is no seer, either.'

Monk: 'Where do we ultimately come to?'

Chih: 'Do you know that it is because of erroneous discrimination that one conceives of a being, and hence the separation of subject and object. This is known as a confused view. For in accordance with this view one is involved in complexities and falls into the path of birth and death. Those with a clearer insight are not like this one. Seeing may go on all day, and yet there is nothing seen by them. You may seek for traces of seeing in them, but nothing, either of the Body or of the Use, is discoverable here. The duality of subject and object is gone—which is called the seeing into Self-nature.'

Zen Lineage: www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/getstarted

r/zen is a reddit forum about Zen scholarship, study, and practice.

Reddit Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/12sfpyz/what_do_i_do_now_that_im_originally_a_buddha/

Post Summary:

You people, each of you has an ancient mirror. All the myriad forms-long, short, square, round-each and every one appears in it. If you go to the longness or shortness to under­stand, in the end you'll never be able to find it. This is why Hsueh Tou said, "When the bright mirrors are on their stands, the range of images differs." Instead you must "All face south and see the northern dip­per." When you're facing south why are you nevertheless to look at the northern dipper?

Zen Teaching: Yuanwu's first book of instruction, translated by Cleary, Blue Cliff Record. Other translations are not reliable.

Zen Lineage: www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/getstarted

r/zen is a reddit forum about Zen scholarship, study, and practice.

Reddit Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/12pobhv/the_relationship_between_selfnature_and_the/

Post Summary:

Therefore, if you students of the Way seek to progress through seeing, hearing, feeling and knowing, when you are deprived of your perceptions, your way to Mind will be cut off and you will find nowhere to enter. Only realize that, though real Mind is expressed in these perceptions, it neither forms part of them nor is separate from them. You should not start REASONING from these perceptions, nor allow them to give rise to conceptual thought; yet nor should you seek the One Mind apart from them or abandon them in your pursuit of the Dharma. Do not keep them nor abandon them nor dwell in them nor cleave to them.'

Zen Teaching:

Huangbo's record, published by the famous Blofeld as Zen Teaching of Huang-Po

Zen Lineage: www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/getstarted

r/zen is a reddit forum about Zen scholarship, study, and practice.

Reddit Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/11p4a0q/is_there_a_difference_between_being_enlightened/

Post Summary:

"It is very hard to find one good Ch'an (Zen) man among you".

Zen Teaching:

Foyan's text published under the title "Instant Zen"

Zen Lineage: www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/getstarted

r/zen is a reddit forum about Zen scholarship, study, and practice.

Reddit Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/12am04b/inherent_buddha_water_buffalo_and_seeking/

Post Summary:

I've just watched over a water buffalo: if it went off the path into the weeds, then I pulled it out; if it invaded people's plantings, then I disciplined it with a whip. Eventually it came to accept human speech nicely. Now it has turned into a white ox on open ground, always present, standing out all day long, not going away even if chased.

Zen Teaching: Case 595 of the Dahui Shobogenzo

Post Cast Overview: What Buddhas know, why ask a buddha, what not to do, lists of complaints, human speech, different mental worlds, experiments in psychology, creatine

Zen Lineage: www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/getstarted

r/zen is a reddit forum about Zen scholarship, study, and practice.

Reddit Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/123b0g4/zen_rejects_buddhism_how_the_4sofz_are/

Post Summary:

Four Statements of Zen

1. The separate transmission outside the teachings,
2. Not based on words,
3. Points directly at the human mind—
4. You see your nature and become a buddha

r/zen is a reddit forum about Zen scholarship, study, and practice.

Reddit Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/126ai60/a_discussion_on_zazen/

Post Summary:

People refuse to answer questions about Zazen, refuse to quote the text that invented Zazen, refuse to address Zazen sex scandals, and then refuse to quote Zen Masters.

Basically it's Zazen as usual.

Zen Teaching: www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/notmeditation, where Zen Masters' rejections of meditation are cataloged. Or www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/secular_dogen, where the fraudulent history of Dogen's religion is discussed along with Dogen lying about Rujing.

Post Cast Overview: Where did Zazen come from? Why can't Zazen people talk about their bible, catechism, history, scandals? What does it mean to not be able to answer questions about your faith when you parade your faith out in public?

The 464th case from Dahui's *Treasury* (aka Dahui's Shobogenzo), Master Tianyi Huai said to an assembly, An ancient said, "A single space on the mountain of five clusters; we go out and in the same door without meeting each other. For countless ages dwelling in a rented house, after all we never know the landlord." An old adept brought his up and said, "Since we don't know him, who do we ask to rent to begin with? Bringing it up this way is still far off. Why? You should know that on the road of the dead there is a place for the living to emerge; on the road of the living the dead are innumerable. Which is the innumerable dead on the road of the living, and which is the place for the living to emerge on the road of the dead? If you can find out, you remove your greasy headgear and shed your stinking shirt. Dahui said, "The ancient Buddha Tianyi is indeed fine, but not yet good. Let patchrobed monks with eyes try to distinguish."

Zen Lineage: www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/getstarted

r/zen is a reddit forum about Zen scholarship, study, and practice.

Reddit Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/11v03po/translating_dahui_shobogenzo_case_512/

Post Summary:

One day the monk Nian asked Sheng "To call it a bamboo comb is to stir up feelings. To not call it a bamboo comb is to turn away. Combine the two and you will be finished."

Zen Teaching: Dahui's Shobogenzo

Post Cast Overview:

For philosophy buffs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_causes

Self versus comb, How do you know if I speak French? Scripts. Dying.

Zen Lineage: www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/getstarted

r/zen is a reddit forum about Zen scholarship, study, and practice.

Reddit Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/122p9h1/what_does_this_point_towards/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1

Post Summary:

"Once the master was in charge of keeping the fires at the monastery. One day, while everyone was out tending the garden, the master went inside the monk's hall and shouted, "Help, fire! Help, fire!"

Everyone rushed back to the monk's hall, but the master had closed and barred the door. No one knew what to do. Finally, Nan- ch'uan (Nansen) took the key from its hook and threw it into the room through the window.

Note: Temple doors have an exterior padlock for when nobody is inside, and an interior bar for when everybody is.

Zen Teaching: Recorded Sayings of Zen Master Joshu

Post Cast Overview: (under construction)

Zen Lineage: www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/getstarted

r/zen is a reddit forum about Zen scholarship, study, and practice.

Reddit Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/11ztod1/song_of_attesting_to_enlightenment_verse_2/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

Post Summary:

When awakened to the Dharmakaya there is no thing; The source of intrinsic nature is the true Buddha. The five aggregates4 come and go like clouds in the sky, The three poisons appear and disappear like bubble

Zen Teaching: Song on Attesting to Enlightenment… by somebody?

Post Cast Overview: No idea. I wasn't there.

Zen Lineage: www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/getstarted