Thinking: Buddhism

Here are a few quotes that caught my eye from The Zen Teachings of Master Lin-Chi.

p. 41

"Whatever confronts you, don't let yourself be imposed on. If you entertain even a moment of doubt, the devil will enter your mind. Even a bodhisattva, when he starts doubting, is prey to the devil of birth and death. Learn to put a stop to thoughts and never look for something outside yourselves."

p. 47

"The various phenomena in this world and other worlds are in all cases devoid of intrinsic nature They are also void of any nature that manifests itself. They are empty names, and the words used to describe them are likewise empty. But you insist on mistaking these idle names for reality. This is a great error. Even if something did exist, it would in all cases by no more than an environment that changes with what it depends on."

p. 49-50

"A true student of the Way never concerns himself with the Buddha, never concerns himself with bodhisattvas or arhats, never concerns himself with the blessings of the three-fold world. Far removed, alone and free, he is never entangled in things. Heaven and earth could turn upside down and he would not be perturbed....Why is he like this? Because he knows that all things in the phenomenal world are empty of characteristics. When conditions change, they come into existence; when there is no change, they do not exist. The threefold world is nothing but mind, ten thousand phenomena are nothing but consciousness. These 'dreams, phantoms, empty flowers-why trouble yourself trying to grasp them?'