This brings to mind a famous teaching about meditation: “In zazen, leave your front door and your back door open. Let thoughts come and go. Just don’t serve them tea.” When you offer tea to a guest, this will make them feel “at home”. It is an invitation to stay. [Shunryu Suzuki Roshi]
“transcendent reality is filled with light and bliss” (Linda Johnsen on Dolpopa and Zhentong)
In 2015 Linda Johnsen (author of the excellent Complete Idiot’s Guide to Hinduism) wrote a fascinating article for the Yoga Intenational website: “Empty or Full? An Ancient Master Reclaims Buddha’s Teachings”. The “Ancient Master” in question is none other than good old Dolpopa. Here’s a taste: It is impossible to ignore the similarities between Dolpopa’s […]
Mantra of Eleven Headed Avalokitesvara
This is quite possibly the second most popular Buddhist mantra in the world, after Om Mani Padme Hum. Namo Ratna Trayāya (Homage to the Triple Gem) Namaḥ Ārya Jñāna Sāgara (Homage to the ocean of noble wisdom) Vairocana (The Luminous One or The Illuminator) Vyūha Rājāya (To the King of the Manifestations.) Tathāgatāya (To the […]
Mantra Against Demons (降魔眞言)
항마진언 (降魔眞言) hang ma jin eon [subduing demons mantra] 아이금강 삼등방편(我以金剛 三等方便) a-i geumgang samdeung bangpyeon 신승금강 반월풍륜(身乘金剛 半月風輪) shinseung geumgang banweol pungryun 단상구방 남자광명(壇上口放 喃字光明) dansang gubang namja gwangmyeong 소여무명 소적지신(燒汝無明 所積之身) soyeo mumyeong sojeok jisin 역칙천상 공중지하(亦勅天上 空中地下) yeokchik cheonsang gongjung jiha 소유일체 작제장난(所有一切 作諸障難) soyu ilche jakje jangnan 불선심자 개래호궤(不善心者 皆來胡跪) bulseon […]
“Break through the side door and see the moonlight” (劈破傍門見月明)
What does it mean to transcend the three realms through the side door? It’s like an insect in a piece of bamboo. If the insect were to gnaw its way out through the length of the bamboo, it would have to go through all the sections; it would take a long time. If the insect were to gnaw a hole in the side of the bamboo instead, it would get out very easily. People who are mindful of the Buddha are like the insect who goes out the side of the bamboo; they escape the three realms on a horizontal plane, right at the level they are. “One carries one’s karma into that rebirth.” The karma one carries is former karma, not current karma, it is old karma, not new karma.
龍頭蛇尾 (Head of a Dragon, Tail of a Snake)
龍 頭 蛇 尾 룡 두 사 미 ryong du sa mi dragon head snake tail
dok-cham (dokusan) “獨參” “독참”
獨參 is pronounced “dok cham” in Sino-Korean. It is more widely known in the West using the Sino-Japanese pronunciation “dokusan”. The characters literally mean “alone” (獨) + “consult” (參).
“The One Mind Is Our Original Home” (三界如客舍 一心是本居)
A verse from Kukai’s “Secret Key to the Heart Sutra”
“Guard it well.” (宜善護持)
宜善護持 “Guard it well.”
宜 yí should
善 shàn good, appropriate
護 hù protect, safeguard, defend
持 chí hold, retain (as in dharani)
The Record of Linji at CBETA (with an example)
約山僧見處，勿嫌底法。
“As far as this old mountain monk is concerned, everything has basic goodness.”