black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

If you see your nature, you don’t need to read sutras or invoke buddhas. Erudition and knowledge are not only useless but also cloud your awareness. Doctrines are only for pointing to the mind. Once you see your mind, why pay attention to doctrines?

Bodhidharma

Not thinking about anything is zen. Once you know this, walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, everything you do is zen. To know that the mind is empty is to see the buddha…. Using the mind to reality is delusion. Not using the mind to look for reality is awareness. Freeing oneself from words is liberation.
BODHIDHARMA

Anything Down Everything Lying Popple Stand Think Walk
All Buddhas preach emptiness. Why? Because they wish to crush the concrete ideas of the students. If a student even clings to an idea of emptiness, he betrays all Buddhas.
BODHIDHARMA

Buddha Cling Concrete Crush Emptiness Idea Preach Student
To have a body is to suffer.
BODHIDHARMA

Body Suffer
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
Freeing oneself from words is liberation.
BODHIDHARMA

Free Liberation Oneself Word
Reality has no inside, outside, or middle part.
BODHIDHARMA

Inside Middle Outside Part Reality
If you use your mind to study reality, you won’t understand either your mind or reality. If you study reality without using your mind, you’ll understand both.
BODHIDHARMA

Mind Reality Study Understand
The ultimate Truth is beyond words. Doctrines are words. They’re not the Way.
BODHIDHARMA

Behind Truth Ultimate Way Word
Without the mind there is no Buddha. Without the Buddha there’s no mind.
BODHIDHARMA

Buddha Mind No Without
As long as you’re enthralled by a lifeless form, you’re not free.
BODHIDHARMA

Enthrailed Free Lifeless Long
This one life has no form and is empty by nature. If you become attached by any form, you should reject it. If you see an ego, a soul, a birth, or a death, reject them all.
BODHIDHARMA

Attach Empty Form Life Nature One Reject
All know the way, but few actually walk it.
BODHIDHARMA

Actual All Few Know Walk Way
Leaving behind the false, return to the true: make no discriminations between self and others. In contemplation, one’s mind should be stable and unmoving, like a wall.
BODHIDHARMA

Behind Discrimination False Leave Make Other Return Self True
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

Death Decisions Every Free Hate Keep Life
Not engaging in ignorance is wisdom.
BODHIDHARMA

Engage Ignorance Wisdom
Worship means reverence and humility it means revering your real self and humbling delusions.
BODHIDHARMA

Delusion Humility Mean Real Reverence Revering Self Worship

If you see your nature, you don’t need to read sutras or invoke buddhas. Erudition and knowledge are not only useless but also cloud your awareness. Doctrines are only for pointing to the mind. Once you see your mind, why pay attention to doctrines?

Related Topics

Popular Authors

If you see your nature, you don’t need to read sutras or invoke buddhas. Erudition and knowledge are not only useless but also cloud your awareness. Doctrines are only for pointing to the mind. Once you see your mind, why pay attention to doctrines?

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Bodhidharma Quotes