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Releasing Mental States and the History of Zen
To see the simple things like a monitor and to want to record small, ordinary moments can bring gentle joy. To record precious things for our loved ones—the little sunlight that warms the heart on a winter day—and to practice mindfulness in every daily activity: repairing a car, a Honda, or a bicycle all require careful attention.
In Zen practice, the mind also has “stuck places” like machines that need a screwdriver, a string, or a needle to untangle. The “mechanisms” or “locks”—koans, the initial question, or a bucket of cold water—are means to break through attachment to self, to transform our stuckness so we can live more peacefully. The three classic buckets of cold water in the dialogue between Emperor Wu of Liang and Bodhidharma:
- all merit is empty
- utterly no saint
-
don’t know
point out that all outward merit is illusory if there is still attachment, and that we must let go of all notions of the absolute “saint.”
Two verses express two complementary perspectives:
- Shenxiu: “The body is the Bodhi tree, the mind like a bright mirror stand. Always diligently wipe it, let no dust alight.”
-
Huineng: “Bodhi originally has no tree, the bright mirror also has no stand. Originally there is not a single thing—where can dust alight?”
The first emphasizes cultivating body and mind through mindfulness, the second breaks through all dualities, affirming that there is no real Bodhi tree or bright mirror stand, only the original no-self.
The initial period of Zen formation lasted about 250 years from Bodhidharma to Huineng, followed by the flourishing era of Mazu Daoyi and Shitou Xiqian, with skillful means such as shouts, sticks, fly-whisks, koans, and initial questions to help practitioners realize “mind itself is Buddha.” The third period, over 320 years, maintained the tradition and opened up the five houses and seven schools; the fourth period, over 450 years, saw Zen decline, gradually recovering through the integration of Zen and teachings. The consistent spirit is the “special transmission outside the scriptures”—direct transmission of mind seal, not dependent on words—and that the ordinary mind is the Way.