Teachings From Ancient Vietnamese Zen Masters – 108
46 All Phenomena
All phenomena are unborn.
All phenomena are undying.
If you see that constantly,
all Buddhas are before your eyes constantly.
TRAN NHAN TONG (1258 – 1308)
(COMMENT: We were born and will die. We were born some decades
ago, and will die in a certain future. How could the Zen masters say all
things unborn and undying?
We all live in this world, weep the tears of sorrow sometimes, have the
laughter of joy other times, feel the breath coming and going endlessly,
and see babies being born and old people dying. How can we say all
things unborn and undying?
That is Nirvana, a state that Buddha referred to as unborn, unageing,
unmade, and undying. Buddha once compared the impermanence of life
to a flickering lamp, and said that to live a single day realizing the
deathless state was better than to live a hundred years in ignorance.
Watch your mind, and see the state of unborn emptiness. Watch the
thoughts coming and going, and see the unmoving mind. Keep seeing
like that.
