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Students today lack self-confidence; they should not seek externally. As long as you continue to rely upon the methods of the ancestors, you will never be able to distinguish between true and false. Buddhas and the ancient masters are nothing more than the tracks left behind by their teachings. Then come people who pluck a saying out of them, regardless of whether its meaning is clear to them or remains hidden. They become uncertain, look up at the sky and down at the earth, ask others for advice and remain confused all the same. Buddha's law requires no effort. It exists in the everyday and has no aim: shitting, pissing, getting dressed, eating, and sleeping when you are tired. The simple-minded may laugh at me, but the wise know better. You tell the world over, "Whoever practices will become enlightened." Do not deceive yourselves with this! If anything is to be gained by practice, then it is the fate of birth and death . . . Buddha and the ancient masters were people with no special intention. |
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Certain blind baldies, to be sure, practice
meditation and the observance of rules. They pack up their thoughts and desires and never let go of them; they shun clamor and
seek quiet. That has nothing to do with the truth [of Zen]. Such and the like are mere affectations. Do not be deceived!
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W Kopp's introduction to the passage: One of the most awesome and powerful figures in the history of Zen was Lin-chi . . . an unusual personality of great stature, a master of radical consequence and uncompromising directness. He ruthlessly cleared everything away that barred direct access to the truth. -from Free Yourself of Everything
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