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When you don’t understand, you depend on reality. When you do understand, reality depends on you.

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
If you use your mind to look for a Buddha, you won’t see the Buddha.
BODHIDHARMA

Buddha Look Mind See Use
Life and death are important. Don’t suffer them in vain.
BODHIDHARMA

Death Important Life Suffer Vain
Delusion means mortality. And awareness means Buddhahood.
BODHIDHARMA

Awareness Buddhahood Delusion Mean
You can’t know your real mind as long as you deceive yourself.
BODHIDHARMA

Deceive Hype Long Mena Real
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
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
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
People of this world are deluded. They’re always longing for something, always, in a word, seeking. But the wise wake up. They choose reason over custom. They fix their minds on the sublime and let their bodies change with the seasons.
BODHIDHARMA

Always Dilute Long People Something Up Wake Wise World
And the Buddha is the person who’s free: free of plans, free of cares.
BODHIDHARMA

Buddha Care Free Person Plan
All know the way, but few actually walk it.
BODHIDHARMA

Actual All Few Know Walk Way
Buddhas move freely through birth and death, appearing and disappearing at will.
BODHIDHARMA

Appear Birth Budhha Death Disappear Freely Move Will
To seek is to suffer. To seek nothing is bliss.
BODHIDHARMA

Bliss Nothing See Suffer
The mind is the Buddha, and the Buddha is the mind.
BODHIDHARMA

Buddha Feel Meditation Mind Patience Power
To see nothing is to perceive the Way, and to understand nothing is to know the Dharma, because seeing is neither seeing nor not seeing, and because understanding is neither understanding nor not understanding.
BODHIDHARMA

Dharma Nothing Perceive See Understand Wa
Trying to find a buddha or enlightenment is like trying to grab space.
BODHIDHARMA

Buddha Enlightenment Find Grasp Space Try

When you don’t understand, you depend on reality. When you do understand, reality depends on you.

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When you don’t understand, you depend on reality. When you do understand, reality depends on you.

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