The problem with theistic religion is that it grants its adherents a one-sided ‘specialness’ that is not present in nature. The Buddha rejected this one-sidedness, whilst it constituted the entire point of Jesus’s alleged existence.
Tag: Hui Neng

Was the Sixth Patriarch of Ch’an of Hakka Ethnicity?
Hakka religious culture often involves the integration of the practice of Daoism, Confucianism and Buddhism. There is a practical engagement with the outer world, whilst the facilities exist within Hakka spiritual culture that allows for the inner development of the mind.

Mount Ji Zu Cliff Exhibits Face of Master Xu Yun (1840-1959)
The Venerable Old Master Xu Yun existed in the time of modern Buddhism and was an outstanding teacher. He was a Buddhist monk who strictly adhered to the Vinaya Discipline for over a hundred years, and cultivated the Dao in at least fifteen different temples, which included the temple of the Sixth Patriarch (Hui Neng). When the time was right, he inherited the lineages of all Five Ch’an Schools. He was a very highly respected Ch’an monk, and had tens of thousands of disciples (both ordained and lay), to whom he transmitted the genuine Ch’an Dharma.
Great Master Xu Yun: On Essential Points of Ch’an Training
This delusion has stained the mind for a very long time, and is the basis and driving force of the continuous cycle of life and death. This why it is often not possible for delusion to be wiped-out immediately, and why the Ch’an training requires certain prerequisite (and supportive) practices to
Dharmakaya, Mind Ground, and Void
Nagarjuna – who read virtually all the known Buddhist sutras of his time, deduced that the Buddha was teaching from this philosophical position – which by necessity – has no position.
Master Xu Yun: On the Relationship Between Ch’an & Pure Land Buddhism
Then Mahakasyapa transmitted to him the Tathagata’s Mind Seal, making him the second Indian Patriarch. The transmission was handed down to following generations, and after the Patriarchs Asvaghosa and Nagarjuna, Chan Master Hui-wen of Tian-tai Mountain in the Bei-qi Dynasty (550-78) after reading (Nagarjuna’s) Madhyamika Shastra, succeeded in realizing his own mind and founded the Tian-tai School.269 At the time, our Chan Sect was very flourishing.