You Cannot Attain Enlightenment Through Seated Meditation
Mazu Daoyi encountered Nanyue Huairang while studying at the Dharma Transmission Monastery, before his enlightenment. Every day, Daoyi would diligently practice seated meditation.
Master Huairang, passing by, asked:
“What do you seek through seated meditation?”
Daoyi replied:
“I want to become a Buddha.”
Master Huairang went to the backyard, picked up a brick, and began rubbing it against the rock where Daoyi was sitting in meditation.
Curious, Daoyi asked:
“Master, what are you doing?”
“I’m making a mirror.”
Daoyi laughed.
“How can rubbing a brick possibly turn it into a mirror?”
Huairang responded:
“How can sitting in meditation make you into a Buddha?”
Daoyi felt a sudden profound realization.
“Then what should I do?”
Huairang said:
“When a person drives an ox cart and it doesn’t move, should they hit the cart or hit the ox?”
Huairang continued:
“Are you learning seated meditation, or learning to sit like a Buddha? If you’re learning seated meditation, meditation isn’t about sitting. If you’re seeking to become a seated Buddha, remember that Buddha has no fixed form. If you become a seated Buddha, you’re killing the Buddha. If you attach to the act of sitting, you cannot reach the truth. In the dharma where there is no abiding, maintain no thoughts of grasping or rejecting.”
In our society, many people diligently attend churches or temples, hoping to attain eternal life or reach paradise. People believe that through regular attendance at temple or church services and earnest prayer, they will be embraced by God or reach paradise. However, one cannot reach heaven through hymns and prayers alone. One cannot reach paradise through hundred-day prayers.
In China during that period, seated meditation was very commonplace. Buddhism was the most popular religion among the common people. Just as going to church for hymns and prayers is commonplace in our country today, seated meditation was exactly like that then. They believed that by sitting in the lotus position and cultivating their minds, they would become Buddha.
In temples, they practice repentance daily. Churches similarly practice confession. Let’s say that today’s problems are resolved through prayer and repentance. However, tomorrow’s problems and future challenges still await that person. They must continue to repent because they will sin again tomorrow. They must continue their weary life of repeated repentance and seeking forgiveness, carrying the burden of guilt.
Then what should be done? Rather than going to church to seek forgiveness, one must transform their own mind into a church. Unless you conquer the mind that seeks to gain something through seated meditation, you cannot attain either eternal life or enlightenment.
‘Are you learning seated meditation, or learning to sit like a Buddha? If you’re learning seated meditation, meditation isn’t about sitting.’
Zen is not about sitting still and calming the mind. Unless you shatter even that perceived stillness and break free from it, you cannot attain that state. The mere perception of stillness must be broken through to reach true realization.
‘If you seek to become a seated Buddha, Buddha has no fixed form.’
Buddha is not like those statues sitting in temple halls. The realm of Buddha is one where you can freely navigate and experience the entirety of phenomena, the whole universe. Therefore, if you imitate a seated Buddha, you’re dishonoring the Buddha, and if you become attached to the act of sitting, you cannot reach the fundamental truth.
div style=”margin-top: 2em; padding-top: 1em; border-top: 1px solid #eee; font-size: 0.9em; color: #666;”>
Source: “선문답의 정수 전등록 강의: 더 나아갈 수 없는 길 1” (The Essence of Zen Questions and Answers – Lectures on the Transmission of the Lamp: The Path of No Further Progress, Vol. 1)
Original text from: 6gaknara.com
© All rights reserved.