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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

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
And as long as you’re subject to birth and death, you’ll never attain enlightenment.
BODHIDHARMA

Attain Birth Death Enlightenment Long never Subject
The awareness of mortals falls short. As long as they’re attached to appearances, they’re unaware that their minds are empty. And by mistakenly clinging to the appearance of things they lose the Way.
BODHIDHARMA

Appearance Attach Awareness Empty Fall Mind Mortal Short Unaware
In order to see a fish you must watch the water
BODHIDHARMA

Fish Nothing Order See Seek
If you use your mind to look for a Buddha, you won’t see the Buddha.
BODHIDHARMA

Buddha Look Mind See Use
All the suffering and joy we experience depend on conditions.
BODHIDHARMA

Condition Depend Experience Joy Suffer
Without the mind there is no Buddha. Without the Buddha there’s no mind.
BODHIDHARMA

Buddha Mind No Without
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
Someone who seeks the Way doesn’t look beyond himself.
BODHIDHARMA

Beyond Himself Lock Seek Someone
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

Buddha Nature Need See Sutras
Whoever knows that the mind is a fiction and devoid of anything real knows that his own mind neither exists nor doesn’t exist.
BODHIDHARMA

Anything Exist Fiction Know Neither Whosoever
As mortals, we’re ruled by conditions, not by ourselves.
BODHIDHARMA

Condition Morais Ourselves Rule
Not engaging in ignorance is wisdom.
BODHIDHARMA

Engage Ignorance Wisdom
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
Buddhas don’t practice nonsense.
BODHIDHARMA

Buddha Nonsense Practice
Freeing oneself from words is liberation.
BODHIDHARMA

Free Liberation Oneself Word

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.

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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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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