Teachings From Ancient Vietnamese Zen Masters – 22
5 Taming the mind
Outwardly, stop all involvement; inwardly, stop all fabrication.
Be alert -- have a mind unmoved by the form you see, by the sound
you hear, by the odor you smell, by the flavor you taste.
…
Constantly, watch the ox moving, listen to its hoofbeats.
Constantly, in any movement, never keep your eyes away from the ox.
Constantly, keep your mind on the ox while lying, sitting, standing and
walking.
Constantly, keep watching inwardly.
It’s wrong to let it wander wildly.
QUANG TRI (circa 18th century)
(COMMENT: Meditation is like taming an ox. How can you have a mind
unmoved while living in this world? Just be like the water, not like
waves or bubbles; the water is unmoved, uncreated, unconditioned
while the waves rise and fall, the bubbles form and pop endlessly. Look
at your mind – an endless stream of thoughts. Keep watching the mind,
and be like water, which equally flows all things thrown into that
stream.)
