Emptiness

172. EVERYTHING IS ZEN

“Not thinking about anything is Zen. Once you know this, walking, standing, sitting or lying down, everything you do is Zen. To know that the mind is empty is to see the Buddha. … Using the mind to look for reality is delusion. Not using the mind to look for reality is awareness. Freeing yourself from words is liberation.”

BODHIDHARMA (5TH–6TH CENTURY), INDIA/CHINA

173. THE PARABLE OF THE CLOTH

The parable of a piece of cloth shows that we must empty the mind and heart in order to practise. The Buddha said: “Suppose a piece of cloth were stained when the dyer dipped it into the dye. It would look poorly dyed because of the cloth’s impure colour. However, if the piece of cloth were pure and bright when the dyer dipped it into the dye, it would look well-dyed because of the cloth’s pure colour. What are the imperfections that defile the heart and mind? Desire, ill-will, anger, revenge, vanity, contempt, arrogance, envy, avarice, deceit, conceit, negligence, sloth, doubt and agitation.”

174. SONG OF ENLIGHTENMENT

"You cannot grasp it; nor can you get rid of it. In not being able to reach it, you reach it. When you speak, it is silent; when you are silent, it speaks.”

YUNG CHIA (665–713), CHINA

175. ROOT AND ORIGIN

“Allow the heart to empty itself of all turmoil! Retrieve the tranquillity of mind from which you issued. Although all forms are dynamic and we all grow and transform, each of us is compelled to return to our root. Our root is quietude. To fully return to our root is to be enlightened.”

LAO TZU (6TH CENTURY BCE), CHINA

176. THE SPIRIT’S EAR

“Inner unity … means hearing, but not with the ear; hearing, but not with the understanding; hearing with the spirit, with your whole being. … The hearing of the spirit is not limited to any one faculty, to the ear, or to the mind. Hence it demands the emptiness of all the faculties. And when the faculties are empty, then the whole being listens. There is a direct grasp of what is there before you.”

CHUANG TZU (369–286BCE), CHINA

177. OPENING AND LETTING GO

“Zen requires opening the heart and mind and

losing all false cognition and false views. When nothing hangs on your mind and you have passed through clearly, then you are ready for refinement.”

YUAN-WU (1063–1135), CHINA