In order to see a fish you must watch the water
BODHIDHARMAAs long as you look for a Buddha somewhere else, you’ll never see that your own mind is the Buddha
More Bodhidharma Quotes
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The mind is the root from which all things grow. If you can understand the mind, everything else is included.
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Unless you see your nature, all this talk about cause & effect is nonsense. Buddhas don’t practice nonsense.
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The ignorant mind, with its infinite afflictions, passions, and evils, is rooted in the three poisons. Greed, anger, and delusion.
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As long as you’re enthralled by a lifeless form, you’re not free.
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To find a Buddha all you have to do is see your nature.
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If you use your mind to look for a Buddha, you won’t see the Buddha.
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The essence of the Way is detachment.
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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?
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The Way is basically perfect. It doesn’t require perfecting.
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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.
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The Way is basically perfect. It doesn’t require perfecting. The Way has no form or sound. It’s subtle and hard to perceive. It’s like when you drink water: you know how hot or cold it is, but you can’t tell others.
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To have a body is to suffer. Does anyone with a body know peace? Those who understand this detach themselves from all that exists and stop imagining or seeking anything. The sutras say, “To seek is to suffer. To seek nothing is bliss.” When you seek nothing, you’re on the Path.
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Trying to find a buddha or enlightenment is like trying to grab space.
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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.
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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