Master Fa Chan’s zen discourses 14

Zen Buddhist practices and beliefs from a living master

1. Zen Master Shitou Xiqian of the Tang Dynasty once said during a lecture in class: “My Dharma was taught by the Buddha before. Regardless of whether you practice meditation or not, you can only reach the Buddha’s knowledge and insight.
   
   The mind is the Buddha. The mind, Buddha, and all living beings, Bodhi, and afflictions, are different in name but one in substance. You should know that your own mind is free from the permanence and impermanence of existence, and its nature is neither dirty nor pure. It is pure and perfect, and is the same for ordinary people and saints. It can be used in any way, and is free from mind and consciousness.
   
   The three realms and six paths are only manifested by one’s own mind. How can the reflection of the moon in the water or the reflection of the moon be born or die? If you can know this, you will have everything.” The ancestors are telling us to understand and realize the Buddha’s superior insight, that is, our original mind and nature are the Buddha. The key point is that our mind must transcend or detach from the mind consciousness, that’s right. The three realms and six paths are just illusions of life manifested by the mind consciousness.
   
   These illusions of life do not exist at all in the mind or nature. Therefore, a person who truly attains enlightenment will certainly not take the Three Realms and Six Paths seriously. It turns out that it is just the moon in the water and the image in the mirror. How can it be real?
   
   
2. Zen Master Deshan Xuanjian of the Tang Dynasty once said: “If you have nothing on your mind and don’t care about things, then you will be empty and spiritual, void and wonderful.” Therefore, a true Taoist should be a person with no mind, a person without things to do, a person who does not ask for anything, a person who does not gain anything, and a person who does nothing. If one still has a mind, things to do, requests, gains, and actions, then he is not a proper monk or a true Taoist.
   
   
3. Perhaps you are not very clear about it, but in fact, gratitude is really an extremely powerful positive energy in life! When you always have a grateful heart in your life, it will really make your heart feel great! As long as you know how to be grateful, everything, people, things, and other things in this world can become the objects of your gratitude. When you are always grateful, your destiny will change greatly, and you may even have continuous good luck. But in order to make the most of gratitude, of course, we must feel grateful, thankful or moved from the bottom of our hearts instead of just saying thank you verbally. In fact, as long as you always have a grateful heart, your body will secrete a large amount of happiness hormones such as oxytocin and serotonin, and at night they will be converted into melatonin, allowing you to sleep well every night! It is certain that when you have a grateful heart you will naturally be in a good mood.
   
   
4. You may not know that, in fact, your thoughts and actions are your destiny. Good thoughts will naturally create good destiny. Thoughts like tolerance, acceptance, respect, love, gratitude, joy, and altruism are all good thoughts and will of course create a good destiny invisibly.
   
   
5. In Buddhism, making a vow is very important. When you can generate a great wish of compassion and altruism from the bottom of your heart, you will naturally have endless blessings or blessings in this life, and it will also help you avoid misfortune and turn disaster into blessing! However, when making a great wish, do not have the mentality of wanting to be rewarded, otherwise the effect will be very limited.
   
   
6. When I was young, I often heard the older generation in my hometown say: “If you have a strong body, you will be brave.” In other words, if your legs are strong, your body will naturally be healthier and stronger. There may be some truth in this statement.
   
   In fact, there are many ways to exercise your legs, and one of the simplest and most effective methods is to “stand on one leg.” Just stand with one foot on top and the other foot slightly raised. There is no time limit, it can be one, two, three, or five minutes. If you are unsteady at the beginning, you can use one hand to support yourself on the table or wall. After finishing one, switch to the other. Our habit is to adopt the one-legged standing method. That is to say, stand on one leg, stretch your arms out to both sides, and make sure the knee of the raised leg is slightly higher than your belly button. We stand on each foot for about five to six minutes at a time. You guys just do what you can and don’t force yourself. If you have any leg disease, you should avoid it. Safety first.