Teachings From Ancient Vietnamese Zen Masters – 90
38 In Front of Your Eyes
The Way is formless,
in front of your eyes, not far away.
Reflect on yourself, and find the Way;
don’t expect elsewhere.
Even if prayers could give you something,
the given must be the untrue.
If [you think] you are given the truth,
then ask yourself which thing is that truth.
Thus the Buddhas of three periods,
the Patriarchs of successive generations,
who transmitted the mind seal, all said like that.
NGUYEN HOC (? – 1174)
(COMMENT: Buddha said the mind created these worlds; also, Buddha
urged the hearers to practice the four foundations of mindfulness to
liberate themselves. The Patriarchs said the Way is formless, and
therefore pathless; also, the Patriarchs urged the Zen practitioners to
realize the mind essence to liberate themselves. What is the difference?
Another way to put that question: What is the difference between being
mindful of body, feelings, mind and dharmas, and being mindful of the
mind essence?
We can answer like this: after realizing the mind essence, you see all
things being manifested by the mind; in other words, you see the mind-
seal on all things. Also, in other words, being mindful of body, feelings,
mind and dharmas exactly is being mindful of the mind manifesting.)
