Reply to Huineng
2021-08-10
Type : poem
Buddha's mind can't stand the mirror.
In chaos nature invented purity.
Dust gathers in my room.
For context this is reply to Huineng's famous stanza.
The mirror has no stand.
The Buddha-nature is always clear and pure.
Where is there room for dust?
Which he wrote (actually dictated because he was illiterate) in response to Shenxiu's stanza
The mind is like a bright mirror's stand.
At all times we must strive to polish it
and must not let dust collect.
It is my attempt at pointing to how silly and stupid Zen is.