I have included an extract from Bodhidharma’s work here, as it is less widely known.
Hui Neng
Part 5 Zazenshin: Acupuncture Needle of Zazen, by Shohaku Okumura
If buddha-dharma is the self, why do we have to study from others? Why do we have to practise in order to change the self? Why do we have to practise? We already have buddha-nature. We can do whatever we want. What is wrong with this kind of view? That is the question. Dogen’s reply is as follows:…
The real part 5 of Zazenshin. Sorry for the slip up last time.
A Taste of Zen: Mazu Daoyi
A monk asked, “What is the essential meaning of Buddhism?” Mazu said, “What is the meaning of this moment?”
A taste of Zen: Heze Shenhui
Shenhui thus founded what became known as the Heze (in Japanese, Kataku) school of Zen. The branch largely died out during the early ninth century and is not remembered as a major school. Nevertheless, the doctrine of sudden enlightenment remained a central characteristic that defined the teaching styles and cultural flavour of later Chinese Zen…
Birth and Death, by Shen Hui
However hard I practise seeing my true nature, I am always brought back into birth and death. What method must be practised in order to obtain the birthless and the deathless?
Form is Void by Shen Hui
Form exists because the mind produces it; void exists because of that which cannot be perceived. It is also said…
Absence of Thought, by Shen-Hui
To see the absence of thought is to master all the dharmas. To see the absence of thought is to embrace all the dharmas…
The Grandmotherly Kindness of the Zen Masters, Diana St Ruth
As far as the Zen masters are concerned, however, they have always been motivated by something beyond this material world and even when they are being apparently extreme or severe, if they are genuine, far from being cruel or uncaring they will be acting from a grandmotherly kindness…
Buddhism now 