This is a nonsense statement premised upon the confusion between traditional Chinese Ch’an Buddhism and the very different modern Japanese Zen, and the ignorant conflation of the hua tou technique with the gongan method.
Tag: empty mind ground
Master Xu Yun: Dull Emptiness is Not Enlightenment
Sitting on a high structure is precarious for an individual, because there is the ever-present danger of ‘falling off’. In such a situation, the practitioner responds by ‘gripping’ ever more tightly to the structure, and will not let go. This is an ‘attachment’ to a lesser state of attainment, an attachment which prevents further progression into the true realms of Ch’an enlightenment.
Breaking Through at the Point of Contact
All legitimate Chinese Ch’an practitioners access the empty mind ground from varying socio-economic conditions that boil down to two distinct positions in life; either that
Master Xu Yun: The Importance of Being a Lay-Buddhist
Having established these facts, it is important to understand that a realised monastic is not limited to his or her social role, and that realised members of lay society are equally not limited to their role. There exists enlightened freedom that functions through specific social roles, but which remains completely ‘free’ of any limitations as defined by those roles.
The Patriarch’s Ch’an Can Not Be Bought
Daoxin stared at this young Dharma-vessel. Later the boy became his student and eventually inherited the Dharma and became the Fifth Ch’an Patriarch – Hongren. Hongren would eventually choose an illiterate man for his successor, who would become the Sixth Patriarch of Ch’an – Hiuneng. This is a significant statement to humanity, because Hongren had many students who were affluent and well educated.
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 