Chan Buddhism – Bodhidharma a monk from India founded the Chinese Chan (Zen) Buddhism.

Bodhidharma a monk from India founded the Chinese Chan (Zen) Buddhism (5th century).

Student: Is it possible to become Buddha without seeing the self-nature, if one endeavors to perfect the practice of chanting, reading scriptures upholding precepts, and exercising great discipline?

Bodhidharma: It is impossible.

Student: Why is it impossible?

Bodhidharma: If one says there is some truth to be attained, big or small, the this is the truth of the form of doing, the truth of the cause and effect, the truth of the necessity of inevitable result, and the truth of karmic result; since these truth cannot avoid life-and-death, at what point could the way of God be attained? To attain Buddha, one must see the self-nature. Without seeing the self-nature, speaking of cause-and-effect, and those above mentioned, are all outsiders-of-truth. Buddha, himself, cannot operate outsiders-truth; God is the non-karmic person and is without cause-and-effect.

As soon as someone says there is some truth to be attained, big or small, then he is actually humiliating God. How can he be enlightened? Attaching to one mind, one functioning, one opinion, even one idea, results in no room for God. God has nothing to uphold nor to violate. Mind-nature is originally void; there is neither pure truth nor impure truth. Nothing to be practiced, nothing to be attained, no cause and no effect.

God neither upholds nor violates the precepts, neither practices the good nor causes the bad, and neither endeavors to practice nor is languid.

Wisdom - Chan Buddhism

God is the one who does nothing.

As soon as you raise the thought of mind abiding somewhere or attaching to something, there is no longer room for God. When God is called God, it is already not the God.

If you do not realize this at all times and places, original mind cannot be grasped. If one continuously raises a thought of non-doing without seeing the self-nature, he is a great sinner and has great ignorance.

Dwelling in blank-minded emptiness, blinded like a drunken man, he cannot distinguish the good from the bad. If you want to practice the non-doing-truth, see the self-nature first, and then rest the thoughts stemming from the outer perspectives.

Before seeing the self-nature, there is no place to enlighten and nothing to attain. Someone who ignores the truth of cause-and-effect, while causing all kinds of bad karma and says that 'everything is originally empty', and 'there is nothing wrong even though I do some bad things'; without fail he will enter the Exitless Hell and the Lightless Hell eternally without hope of getting out; because of this a wise one would not raise this kind of thought.

Meditation center

Here you get more information about Chan and the monthly meditation retreat.