Just Finished Mud and Water a Collection of Talks by the Zen Master Bassui translated
by Arthur Braverman. Very good but Huang Po is better, IMO. ****



Imagine a child sleeping next to its parents and dreaming it is being beaten or is painfully sick. The parents cannot help the child no matter how much it suffers … If the child could awaken itself, it could be freed of this suffering automatically. In the same way, one who realizes that his own Mind is Buddha frees himself instantly from sufferings arising from the ceaseless change of birth and death. If a Buddha could prevent it, do you think he would allow even one sentient being to fall into hell?

What is obstructing realization? Nothing but your own half-hearted desire for truth. Think of this and exert yourself to the utmost.





Poem / quote n° 3021 : Bassui Zenji, (1327 - 1387), mystic, Buddhism, Mahayana, Zen (Chan)
Source : Kapleau, Philip. The Three Pillars of Zen. Boston: Beacon Press, 1965
















If you would free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death, you must learn the direct way to become a Buddha. This way is no other than the realization of your own Mind … If you want to realize your own Mind, you must first of all look into the source from which thoughts flow. Sleeping and working, standing and sitting, profoundly ask yourself, 'What is my own Mind," with an intense yearning to resolve this question. This searching of one's own Mind leads ultimately to enlightenment.





Poem / quote n° 3019 : Bassui Zenji, (1327 - 1387), mystic, Buddhism, Mahayana, Zen (Chan)
Source : Kapleau, Philip. The Three Pillars of Zen. Boston: Beacon Press, 1965