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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

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
Neither gods nor men can foresee when an evil deed will bear its fruit.
BODHIDHARMA

Bear Deed Evil Forse Fruit God Neither
If we should be blessed by some great reward, such as fame or fortune, it’s the fruit of a seed planted by us in the past.
BODHIDHARMA

Bless Fame Fortune Fruit Great Plant Reward Seed Some
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
The essence of the Way is detachment.
BODHIDHARMA

Death Essence Way
But deluded people don’t realize that their own mind is the Buddha. They keep searching outside.
BODHIDHARMA

Buddha Develop Keep Mind Own People Realize Search
The Dharma is the truth that all natures are pure.
BODHIDHARMA

All Dharma Nature Pure Truth
But this mind isn’t somewhere outside the material body of the four elements. Without this mind we can’t move. The body has no awareness. Like a plant or a stone, the body has no nature. So how does it move? It’s the mind that moves.
BODHIDHARMA

Body Element Four Mind Move Outside Somewhere
But when you first embark on the Path, your awareness won’t be focused. You’re likely to see all sorts of strange, dreamlike scenes. But you shouldn’t doubt that all such scenes come from your own mind and nowhere else.
BODHIDHARMA

Awareness Embark First Focus Path
The Way is basically perfect. It doesn’t require perfecting.
BODHIDHARMA

Basically Perfect Require Way
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
Regardless of what we do, our karma has no hold on us.
BODHIDHARMA

Hold Karma Regard Us
Our nature is the mind. And the mind is our nature.
BODHIDHARMA

Mind Nature Our Own
Unless you see your nature, all this talk about cause & effect is nonsense. Buddhas don’t practice nonsense.
BODHIDHARMA

Buddha Cause Effect Nature Nonsense Practice Talk Unless See
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
But people of the deepest understanding look within, distracted by nothing. Since a clear mind is the Buddha, they attain the understanding of a Buddha without using the mind.
BODHIDHARMA

Deepest Distract Nothing People Understanding

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.

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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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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