From loving kindness and compassion, enlightenment mind arises. Enlightenment mind, again, is defined as the resolution to attain ultimate enlightenment so that one may be of greatest benefit of all sentient beings, just like Shakyamuni Buddha himself. The Buddha also first generated enlightenment mind, then accumulated wisdom and merit, and eventually attained enlightenment, through which he benefited countless sentient beings.
We are followers of the Buddha, and particularly we are Mahayanists. We must cultivate not only the abandonment of non-virtuous deeds and defilements but also the accumulation of loving kindness, compassion, and enlightenment mind. In this way, we will be able to attain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings.
To know that the mind is empty is to see the Buddha. To see no mind is to see the Buddha.
To give up yourself without regret is the greatest charity.
To transcend motion and stillness is the highest Meditation. Mortals keep moving while the Awakened stay still.
Yet, the highest meditation surpasses both that of Mortals and that of the Awakened.
Individuals who reach such understanding free themselves from all appearances and without effort cure illness without treatment. Such is the power of great Zen.
Using the mind to look for reality is delusion.
Not using the mind to look for reality is Awareness.
Freeing oneself from words is liberation. Remaining unblemished by the dust of sensation is guarding the Dharma.
Transcending life and death is leaving home.
Not suffering another existence is reaching the Way.
Not creating delusions is Enlightenment.
Not engaging in ignorance is Wisdom.
No affliction is Nirvana and no appearance of the Mind is the other Shore.
When you are deluded this shore exists. When you wake up it does not exist.
Mortals stay on this Shore but those who discover the greatest of all vehicles stay on neither this or nor the other Shore.
They are able to leave both Shores. Those who see the other Shore as different from this Shore don’t understand Zen.
You might think you could practice zazen much better if you had no problem, but actually, some problem is necessary. It doesn’t have to be a big one. Through the difficulty you have, you can practice zazen. This is an especially meaningful point, which is why Dogen Zenji says, “Practice and enlightenment are one.” Practice is something you do consciously, something you do with effort. There! Right there is enlightenment.
Part 1 of the Treasury includes: Sections 1-2 Among the works in Longchen Rabjam’s famous collection, the Seven Treasuries, is this book commonly known as the Chöying Dzod.
Longchenpa, also known as Longchen Rabjam, ‘Infinite, Vast Expanse of Space’, or Drimé Özer (1308-1364), was one of the most brilliant teachers of the Nyingma lineage. He systematized the Nyingma teachings in his ‘Seven Treasures’ and wrote extensively on Dzogchen. Reading taken from The Treasury of the Basic Space of Phenomena
The main purpose of the spiritual path is awakening. This awakening isn’t some supernatural awakening. It’s awakening to the truth. We usually shy away from the truth, and so we constantly get ourselves bogged down. Because of this, the elements and ingredients of the path are especially designed to dismantle our strong habits, including our emotional habits, ideas, values, and principles.
Unless you have made a clear decision to turn your back on samsara, then however many prayers you recite, however much you meditate, however many years you remain in retreat, it will all be in vain. You may have a long life, but it will be without essence. You may accumulate great wealth, but it will be meaningless. The only thing that is really worth doing is to get steadily closer to enlightenment and further away from samsara. Think about it carefully.
– Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
from the book “The Heart of Compassion: The Thirty-seven Verses on the Practice of a Bodhisattva”
You think that you can only establish true practice after you attain enlightenment, but it is not so. True practice is established in delusion, in frustration. If you make some mistake, that is where to establish your practice. There is no other place for you to establish your practice.
We talk about enlightenment, but in its true sense, perfect enlightenment is beyond our understanding, beyond our experience. Even in our imperfect practice enlightenment is there. We just don’t know it. So the point is to find the true meaning of practice before we attain enlightenment. Wherever you are, enlightenment is there. If you stand up right where you are, that is enlightenment.
– Shunryu Suzuki
from the book “Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen”
It is said that Avalokiteshvara was once asked by a disciple, “What practice is the most essential to accomplish Buddhahood?” Avalokiteshvara answered that the most important thing, the most essential thing to do to attain Buddhahood, is to practice compassion. This is because when you practice compassion, all other qualities, such as loving kindness and the enlightenment mind, are naturally accomplished and naturally gather.
or somewhere other than here or
that awakening to reality will happen
some time other than now.But as long as we continue to think in terms of time
we will deceive ourselves.The “you” who is chasing enlightenment
will never become enlightened.
Instead of striving towards some distant goal that
you will never reach, I invite you to stop and ask:
How am I avoiding the enlightenment
that is already present in each moment?
How am I seeing separation where it doesn’t exist?
“Enlightenment is a destructive process, the crumbling away of untruth. It’s seeing through the facade of pretence. It’s the complete eradication of everything we imagined to be true…
All that is necessary to awaken to yourself as the radiant emptiness of spirit is to stop seeking something more or better or different, and to turn your attention inward to the awake silence that you are. The truth is that you already are what you are seeking.”― Adyashanti ―
Just as the grammarian makes one study grammar, A Buddha teaches according to the tolerance of his students;
Some he urges to refrain from sins, others to do good,
Some to rely on dualism, other on non-dualism;
And to some, he teaches the profound,
The terrifying, the practice of enlightenment,
Whose essence is emptiness that is compassion.
– Nagarjuna
quoted in the book “The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience”
When you don’t have hang-ups,
when you don’t have inhibition,
When you are not afraid,
You will be breaking certain rules.
When you are not afraid,
You will not fulfill somebody’s expectations.
What more enlightenment do you want?
Trying to find a Buddha or enlightenment is like trying to grab space. Space has a name but no form. It’s not something you can pick up or put down. And you certainly can’t grab it. Beyond this mind you’ll never see a Buddha. The Buddha is a product of your mind. Why look for a Buddha beyond this mind?
– Bodhidharma
from the book “The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma”
ISBN: 978-0865473997 – https://amzn.to/12XUhNW
If enlightenment comes first, before thinking, before practice, your thinking and your practice will not be self-centered. By enlightenment I mean believing in nothing, believing in something which has no form or no color, which is ready to take form or color. This enlightenment is the immutable truth. It is on this original truth that our activity, our thinking, and our practice should be based.
Zen Flash 
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