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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

When your mind doesn’t stir inside, the world doesn’t arise outside. When the world and the mind are both transparent, this is true vision. And such understanding is true understanding.
BODHIDHARMA

Arie Inside Mind Outside Stir World
People of this world are deluded. They’re always longing for something – always, in a word, seeking.
BODHIDHARMA

Longing People World
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
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 mind’s capacity is limitless, and its manifestations are inexhaustible. Seeing forms with your eyes, hearing sounds with your ears, smelling odors with your nose, tasting flavors with your tongue, every movement or state is all your mind.
BODHIDHARMA

Capacity Inexhasisible Limitless Manifestation Mind
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
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
The ignorant mind, with its infinite afflictions, passions, and evils, is rooted in the three poisons. Greed, anger, and delusion.
BODHIDHARMA

Affliction Delusion Evil Greed Ignorant Mind Passion Poison
I do not need any writing, since I transmit teaching beyond words and ideas.
BODHIDHARMA

Beyond Idea Ned Since Teach Transmit Word Write
Once you stop clinging and let things be, you’ll be free, even of birth and death. You’ll transform everything.
BODHIDHARMA

Cling Free Let Once Stop Thing Transformation
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
Trying to find a buddha or enlightenment is like trying to grab space.
BODHIDHARMA

Buddha Enlightenment Find Grasp Space Try
As mortals, we’re ruled by conditions, not by ourselves.
BODHIDHARMA

Condition Morais Ourselves Rule
One clings to life although there is nothing to be called life; another clings to death although there is nothing to be called death. In reality, there is nothing to be born; consequently, there is nothing to perish.
BODHIDHARMA

Although Another Call Cling Death Life One
Many roads lead to the Path, but basically there are only two: reason and practice.
BODHIDHARMA

Basically Lead Many Path Practice Reason Road
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

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?

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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