The Mind is the Way

Someone who seeks the Way doesn't look beyond himself. He knows that the mind is the Way. But when he finds the mind, he finds nothing. And when he finds the Way, he finds nothing. If you think you can use the mind to find the Way, you're deluded. When you're deluded, buddhahood exists. When you're aware, it doesn't exist. This is because awareness is buddhahood.

If you're looking for the Way, the Way won't appear until your body disappears. It's like stripping bark from a tree. This karmic body undergoes constant change. It has no fixed reality. Practice according to your thoughts. Don't hate life and death or love life and death. Keep your every thought free of delusion, and in life you'll witness the beginning of nirvana,^ and in death you'll experience the assurance of no rebirth.

Notes:

Folksonomies: zen

Taxonomies:
/religion and spirituality/buddhism (0.986699)

Concepts:
Mind (0.994307): dbpedia_resource
Reality (0.978583): dbpedia_resource
Awareness (0.918779): dbpedia_resource
Delusion (0.916408): dbpedia_resource
Knowledge (0.830952): dbpedia_resource
Thought (0.763805): dbpedia_resource
Buddhism (0.740212): dbpedia_resource
Saṃsāra (0.679305): dbpedia_resource

 The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book:  Pine, Red (1989), The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma, Retrieved on 2025-05-21
  • Source Material [archive.org]
  • Folksonomies: zen