Zen Teaching of Emptiness by Shin Zen Master Gosung

Author:Shin, Zen Master Gosung [Shin, Zen Master Gosung]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: FIEAEIF University
Published: 2017-09-28T16:00:00+00:00

Three Essentials: Faith, Determination, Doubt

In Zen practice when we speak of having faith, we do not refer to faith in “God” or in some set of rules or in anything outside of our own being. We mean, rather, having faith that this mind is Buddha, that there is nothing outside of mind, and that this mind can attain enlightenment. It is faith that only the mind has the potential to create heaven or hell, while the body remains just the carrier of the mind, doomed to eventual sickness, death and decay. This means that we are only of this world as long as this body has good health and youth. This is why we must solve the great problem of birth and death and the suffering that goes hand in hand with it. To do this we must have faith that everything is mind and that there is absolutely no Zen meditation without enlightenment.

We can think of meditation like the rubbing of two pieces of wood together to make a fire. Originally fire comes from wood. If we do not touch the sticks they will eventually become rotten and turn to dust. If we do rub them together, vigorously, we will get fire. It is the same with human beings. When you mistakenly value your body alone, then you are losing your life, thereby living your entire life without receiving the grace to realize your Essence of Mind. When you have faith in Mind and work on Mind, it is the same as rubbing the two sticks of wood together; Essence of Mind will be yours to realize, protecting your eternal life so that you will be able to escape from the cycle of birth and death.

To have faith in mind is to have faith in Buddha Nature which is pure, original, Essence of Mind. Buddha Nature is the nature, or seed of Buddha, and Buddha Nature is Buddha. As an illustration, think how we use a magnifying glass to focus the sun's rays and start a fire with a piece of cotton. Where does the fire come from? The sun is too far away; how can it start a fire? Nevertheless, the fire truly does come from the sun's rays being concentrated into one point through the magnifying glass. Yet, if the cotton did not have the nature or qualities of burning, we could never have started a fire with it. We are like cotton; we are the Buddha Nature, and the fire is like enlightenment, the realization of our Buddha Nature, or the process of becoming Buddha. The sunshine is Buddha's prajna (wisdom), and the magnifying glass is the exercising of dhyana (concentration). Everyone has the nature to attain enlightenment, and Buddha’s prajna is always helping people, allowing them to have faith to attain enlightenment. Everyone has this faith growing naturally in their minds. In the Nirvana Sutra , Buddha Sakyamuni says that everything has Buddha Nature.

Other Patriarchs say that everything “is” Buddha Nature, which means that, through exercising dhyana, everyone will be able to return to their original, pure mind.

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