Bodhidharma Bloodstream Sermon
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The Patriach Bodhidharma brought with him the lankavatara sutra
to the Dhyana(chan ) school of Buddhism
This is one of the reason why i shared with everyone here
My first favourites teachings on chan in 2000
Bloodstream Sermon
Everything that appears in the three realms comes from the mind. Hence Buddhas of the past
and future teach mind to mind without bothering about definitions.
Student: But if they donÂ’t define it, what do they mean by mind?
Bodhidharma: You ask. ThatÂ’s your mind. I answer. ThatÂ’s my mind. If I had no mind how
could I answer? If you had no mind, how could you ask? That which asks is your mind.
Through endless kalpas" without beginning, whatever you do, wherever you are, thatÂ’s your
real mind, thatÂ’s your real buddha. This mind is the buddha" says the same thing. Beyond this
mind youÂ’ll never find another Buddha. To search for enlightenment or nirvana beyond this
mind is impossible. The reality of your own self-nature the absence of cause and effect, is
whatÂ’s meant by mind. Your mind is nirvana. You might think you can find a Buddha or
enlightenment somewhere beyond the mindÂ’, but such a place doesnÂ’t exist.
Trying to find a Buddha or enlightenment is like trying to grab space. Space has -
a name but no form. ItÂ’s not something you can pick up or put down. And you certainly canÂ’t
grab if. Beyond mind youÂ’ll never see a Buddha. The Buddha is a product of the mind. Why
look for a Buddha beyond this mind?
Buddhas of the past and future only talk about this mind. The mind is the Buddha, and the
Buddha is the mind. Beyond the mind thereÂ’s no Buddha and beyond the Buddha thereÂ’s no
mind. If you think there is a Buddha beyond the mindÂ’, where is he? ThereÂ’s no Buddha
beyond the mind, so why envision one? You canÂ’t know your real mind as long as you
deceive yourself. As long as youÂ’re enthralled by a lifeless form, youÂ’re not free. If you donÂ’t
believe me, deceiving yourself wonÂ’t help. ItÂ’s not the BuddhaÂ’s fault. People, though, are
deluded. TheyÂ’re unaware that their own mind is the Buddha. Otherwise they wouldnÂ’t look
for a Buddha outside the mind. -
Buddhas donÂ’t save Buddhas. If you use your mind to look for a Buddha, you wonÂ’t see the
Buddha. As long as you look for a Buddha somewhere else, youÂ’ll never see that your own
mind is the Buddha. DonÂ’t use a Buddha to worship a Buddha. And donÂ’t use the mind to
invoke a Buddha." Buddhas donÂ’t recite sutras." Buddhas donÂ’t keep precepts." And Buddhas
donÂ’t break precepts. Buddhas donÂ’t keep or break anything. Buddhas donÂ’t do good or evil.
To find a Buddha, you have to see your nature." Whoever sees his nature is a Buddha. If you
donÂ’t see your nature, invoking Buddhas, reciting sutras, making offerings, and keeping
precepts are all useless. Invoking Buddhas results in -
good karma, reciting sutras results in a good memory; keeping precepts results in a good
rebirth, and making offerings results in future blessings-but no buddha. If you donÂ’t
understand by yourself, youÂ’ll have to find a teacher to get to the bottom of life and death. But
unless he sees his nature, such a person isnÂ’t a tea6er. Even if he can recite the Twelvefold
Canon he canÂ’t escape the Wheel of Birth and Death. He suffers in the three realms without
hope of release. Long ago, the monk Good Star 21 was able to recite the entire Canon. But he
didnÂ’t escape the Wheel, because he didnÂ’t see his nature. If this was the case with Good Star,
then people nowadays who recite a few sutras or shastras and think itÂ’s the Dharma are fools.
Unless you see your mind, reciting so much prose is useless.
To find a Buddha all you have to do is see your nature. Your nature is the Buddha. And the
Buddha is the person whoÂ’s free: free of plans, free of cares. If you donÂ’t see your nature and
run around all day looking somewhere else, youÂ’ll never find a buddha. The truth is thereÂ’s
nothing to find. But to reach such an understanding you need a teacher and you need to
struggle to make yourself understand. Life and death are important. DonÂ’t suffer them in vain.
ThereÂ’s no advantage in deceiving yourself. Even if you have mountains of jewels and as
many servants as there are grains of sand along the Ganges, you see them when your eyes are
open. But what about when your eyes are shut? You should realize then that everything you
see is like a dream or illusion. -
If you donÂ’t find a teacher soon, youÂ’ll live this life in vain. ItÂ’s true, you have the buddhanature.
But the help of a teacher youÂ’ll never know it. Only one person in a million becomes
enlightened without a teacherÂ’s help. If, though, by the conjunction of conditions, someone
understands what the Buddha meant, that person doesnÂ’t need a teacher. Such a person has a
natural awareness superior to anything taught. But unless youÂ’re so blessed, study hard, and
by means of instruction youÂ’ll understand.
People who donÂ’t understand and think they can do so without study are no different from
those deluded souls who canÂ’t tell white from black." Falsely proclaiming the Buddha-
Dharma, such persons in fact blaspheme the Buddha and subvert the Dharma. They preach as
if they were bringing rain. But theirs is the preaching of devils not of Buddhas. Their teacher
is the King of Devils and their disciples are the DevilÂ’s minions. Deluded people who follow
such instruction unwittingly sink deeper in the Sea of Birth and Death. Unless they see their
nature, how can people call themselves Buddhas theyÂ’re liars who deceive others into entering
the realm of devils. Unless they see their nature, their preaching of the Twelvefold Canon is
nothing but the preaching of devils. Their allegiance is to Mara, not to the Buddha. Unable to
distinguish white from black, how can they escape birth and death? -
good karma, reciting sutras results in a good memory; keeping precepts results in a good
rebirth, and making offerings results in future blessings-but no buddha. If you donÂ’t
understand by yourself, youÂ’ll have to find a teacher to get to the bottom of life and death. But
unless he sees his nature, such a person isnÂ’t a tea6er. Even if he can recite the Twelvefold
Canon he canÂ’t escape the Wheel of Birth and Death. -
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Everything that appears in the three realms comes from the mind.
When we are at our deathbed , we see nice images of our attachment
so those that attached to money, sees a truckload of money , a nice villa or simple symbolism of wealth
and when one conscious went to embrace it , the suffering realms appear
Many argue why there are hell and soldiers of hell punishing sentient beings in Hell
Yet ,most do not understand all this are fabrication of the mind
when the mind is full of wrongdoings. the karmic fruition takes shape in the form of hell soldier and type of punishment
One sees attachment ,one will be liberate forever from Samsara -
wah sian
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Taming this mind can be very challenging.We alway say mind over body but who over our mind ? U might be surprise tat all along u hav been misleaded & have no control of ur mind.Originally posted by Cenarious:wah sian