Teachings From Ancient Vietnamese Zen Masters – 138
56 Mind Only
Realizing that the mind is void, and the scene is still,
you will go beyond the holy and unholy.
If your thought clings to scenes, sensations will arise,
and ten thousand fetters will restrain you.
The heavenly beings, human beings
and all phenomena are ultimately in here.
The ‘I’ and the others are just one – originally, the mind only.
THONG VINH (circa 19th century)
(COMMENT: The scene is still? How can we know and experience that
the scence is quiet, silent, soundless, and transquil? The world always
has some noise. Listen to your mind; you could hear that the mind
always makes some noise.
Nearly thirty years ago, I asked Zen Master Tich Chieu, “Why the
Shurangama Sutra says that the existence of all phenomena is the mind
nature, and that the mind nature is the existence of all phenomena?”
The Zen master replied, “All the waves are water.”)
