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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.

Bodhidharma

When we’re deluded there’s a world to escape. When we’re aware, there’s nothing to escape.
BODHIDHARMA

Aware Delude Escape Nothing World
Our nature is the mind. And the mind is our nature.
BODHIDHARMA

Mind Nature Our Own
When mortals are alive, they worry about death. When they’re full, they worry about hunger. Theirs is the Great Uncertainty. But sages don’t consider the past. And they don’t worry about the future. Nor do they cling to the present. And from moment to moment they follow the Way.
BODHIDHARMA

Alive Death Full Hunger Mortal Worry
To enter by reason means to realize the essence through instruction and to believe that all living things share the same true nature, which isn’t apparent because it’s shrouded by sensation and delusion.
BODHIDHARMA

Believe Enter Instruction Live Mean Reason
The true Way is sublime. It can’t be expressed in language. Of what use are scriptures? But someone who sees his own nature finds the Way, even if he can’t read a word.
BODHIDHARMA

Express Language Scripture Sublime True Use Way
But while success and failure depend on conditions, the mind neither waxes nor wanes.
BODHIDHARMA

Condition Depend Eanes Failure Mind Neither Success Waxes
Without the mind there is no Buddha. Without the Buddha there’s no mind.
BODHIDHARMA

Buddha Mind No Without
As mortals, we’re ruled by conditions, not by ourselves.
BODHIDHARMA

Condition Morais Ourselves Rule
An Awakened person is someone who finds freedom in good fortune and bad.
BODHIDHARMA

Awake Bad Find Fortune Freedom Person Someone
Reality has no inside, outside, or middle part.
BODHIDHARMA

Inside Middle Outside Part Reality
To give up yourself without regret is the greatest charity.
BODHIDHARMA

Charity Give Greatest Regret Yourself
Buddhas move freely through birth and death, appearing and disappearing at will.
BODHIDHARMA

Appear Birth Budhha Death Disappear Freely Move Will
Our true buddha-nature has no shape. And the dust of affliction has no form.
BODHIDHARMA

Affliction Buddha Dust Form Nature One Shape True
Not thinking about anything is Zen. Once you know this, walking, sitting, or lying down, everything you do is Zen.
BODHIDHARMA

Anything Lying Once People Sitting Think
In order to see a fish you must watch the water
BODHIDHARMA

Fish Nothing Order See Seek
Buddha means awareness, the awareness of body and mind that prevents evil from arising in either.
BODHIDHARMA

Arise Awareness Body Buddha Either Mena Mind Prevent

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.

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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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Bodhidharma Quotes