If you want to know the realm of buddhahood, you must make your mind as clear as empty space. Leave false thinking and all grasping far behind, causing your mind to be unobstructed wherever it may turn. The realm of buddhahood is not some external world where there is a formal "Buddha." It's the realm of the wisdom of a self-awakened sage.
- Zen Master Ta-hui (1088-1163)
There is a reality even prior to heaven and earth; indeed, it has no form, much less a name. Eyes fail to see it; it has no voice for ears to detect. To call it Mind or Buddha violates its nature, for it then becomes like a visionary flower in the air. It is not Mind, nor Buddha; absolutely quiet, and yet illuminating in a mysterious way, it allows itself to be perceived only by the clear-eyed. It is Dharma truly beyond form and sound; it is Tao having nothing to do with words.
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