Attain Self Realization -Zen Mirror- MarApr10

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MICA (P) No. 029/05/2009

Upcoming Activities

Lavender

6/3/2010

65th Zen Meditation Coursefor Beginners(6 lessons, please register)

7/3/2010

9am

Visit Old Folks Home, report9am at Lavender Zen Centre(please register)

28/3/2010

(Guan Yins Birthday Repentance chanting, 3-foldRefuge and 5 PreceptsCelebration(please register)Pengerang

29/3/2010 - 4/4/2010

(7-day Zen Meditation Retreat

by Ven. Chi Boon (pleaseregister)

A bi-monthly newsletter brought to you by Kwan Yin Chan Lin Singapore Mar - Apr 2010

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3/4/2010

(Guan Yins Birthday Repentance chanting, 3-foldRefuge and 5 PreceptsCelebration(please register)

>> 2

KYCL Home Visit

7 March 2010, 9amMeet at Lavender (Please register)

3 7 2010, 9am


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You MUST attain

self realisation!- translated from talk given by Harada Tangen roshi-sama

on 5th day of retreat

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Meeting with true Dharma is hearing the truth of your own existence. The notion of I am that younow hold onto, will not serve you when faced withdeath. Life and Death is the one great questionto be worked through. I, me, mine, I am this

body, will not carry you through the barrier.

Genuine self, Eternal self You are no different from the Buddhas and theAncestors. All beings possessed the wisdom andvirtue of Buddha. All beings are Buddha, Buddhavirtue, Buddha wisdom.

Eternal Self is everlasting. Its never pulled outfrom under you. Never harmed, never soiled. Your true self is complete merit, perfect virtue.

But arent you now relying on something thatcan only end in sad farewell? That which you

presently cherish, wont it all be lost to you,forfeited? Impermanence hangs heavy before you.But, but, genuine self goes nowhere. True self isalways right here, right now. Going nowhere. For some people, going nowhere may sound bleak andrestricted. To you, I will say, Anywhere you like.Go ahead, you are free.

Eternal self is never shaken. Complete merit, perfect virtue. Any and everywhere free. Free. At peace. Boundless, bottomless peace of mind isyour true nature. Whats more, no attachment toself, this body, me. There is only caring for andworking for all beings. Caring and caring. Deepcare and consideration for all beings is your truenature.

Heaven and Earth, One root. All things one body. You cannot grasp, cannot be grasped. There is noone to grasp, no thing to be grasped. There is nodivision, no separation.

All the Buddhas and Ancestors have sel essly

directing their vast love and care to all beings whostill suffer under the delusion of ego. The Buddhas

and Ancestors are looking after us. Everyone of you atall times is receiving the care of all the Buddhas. Itsok, good, its alright. All is well. All beings are my dear

lovely children. This is the mind of all the Buddhas andAncestors. We are being sel essly guarded and protected.Yet sadly, we do not recognise this, we look off, look away from the truth. The great way is right here, now,right under your feet.

And yet you are looking around and about for guidance,not knowing what to do with yourself. Sadly, painfully,relentless small me. This is spiritual darkness.

I wont look off, you may say. It is your vow andintention not to look away, but in fact (laughs), you arelooking off plenty.

Before Buddhas were enlightened, they were the sameas we are now. Enlightened people of today are exactlyas those of old. You MUST attain self realisation! By remaining indarkness, you not only cause suffering for yourself. Butin darkness, neither are you able to be of help to others.You are here, able to hear to truth of self. If now you donot practise with steadfast determination, you will not beable to truly serve others. Youll nd yourself spinning

your wheels, your efforts will be without skill. Youll be pulled into trouble yourself, rather than pulling others


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Zen does not explain anything. Zen does not analyseanything. It merely points back directly to our mindso that we can wake up and become Buddha. A longtime ago, someone once asked a great Zen master,Is attaining our true self very dif cult?

The Zen master replied, Yah, very dif cult!

Later someone else asked the same Zen master, Isattaining our true self very easy?

Yah, its very easy!

Some other people asked him, Is attaining our trueself very easy or very dif cult?

The Zen master replied, Yah, its very dif cult,and also very easy.

Someone later asked him, How is Zen practice?Very dif cult or easy?

The Zen master replied, When you drink water,you understand yourself whether it is hot or cold.

The point of this is that your mind makeseverything. If you think something is dif cult, it is

dif cult. If you think something is easy, it is easy.If you think that something is not easy, but also notdif cult, then its not dif cult or easy. Then what isit really like? Go drink some water, and then youwill understand, on your own, whether it is hotor cold. Dont make dif cult or easy. Dont makeanything: when you are doing something, just do it.That is Zen.

We all have questions about this life. That is whywe practice. What is Buddha? What is mind?

What is consciousness? What is life and death?If you want to understand the realm of buddhas, rstyou must keep a mind that is clear like space. That isalready every buddhas mind. Keeping your mind clear like space means your mind is clear like a mirror: whenred comes before the mirror, red appears; white comes,white. The name we sometimes give to this is re ectmind. You just re ect the universe exactly as it is. Thatis already truth.

When we are hungry, if we only look at pictures of food, even a thousand pictures, our hunger will never

be satis ed. Were still hungry! These thinking-picturescannot help our body, cannot help our stomach or our mind. It is necessary to eat something right throughyour mouth. That is why Zen practice appeared in thisworld. Open your mouth. Thats food! Thats drink!Zen does not teach nice words, but points directly toyour own mind so that you can directly attain your truenature.

When Zen Master Joju was alive, Zen practice had become attached to hidden meanings in questionsand answers. Monks looked for secret teachings andstrange explanations. One day Joju was walking aroundthe temple grounds. A monk came up to him andasked, Why did Bodhidharma come to China? Thiswas another way of asking what was the teaching of Buddhism. Joju replied, The cypress tree in the garden.Instead of giving the monk some secret teaching, Jojuwas showing him that everything is already truth. Whenyou look at the cypress tree in the garden, you get theBuddhas teaching. You attain the teaching of all theeminent teachers. The cypress tree in the garden is trueBuddhism. When the monk asked his question, Jojudid not reply by giving him another beautiful pictureof food. Jojus answer says, Open your mouth! That isfood! Now you can taste it! Ha ha ha ha!

Pointing Directly toMind

Part 3, extracted from The Compass of ZenZen Master Seung Sahn

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It was said that Prince Siddhartha saw an old man, a sick man and a corpse. These sights struck himdeeply, for they showed him exactly what would be in store for him - he would get sick, grow oldand eventually die. After that he saw an acetic and this sight compelled him to begin his own spiritual

journey.

It can be safely assumed that he did not leave home to nd a better job, a better life and certainly not for wealth and health. It is about something that is very raw, very fundamental and very, very uncomfortable

All of us are going to DIE one day.

So what is life about? What is the meaning of life?

Are these questions still as applicable now as it was 2500 years ago?

By end of this day, Ill have 1 less day to live.

Every moment passes without me noticing.

What is important to me?

What do I really want?

Do I want to die without nding out what life is about?

What is Life about?

- By cheesecake

out of suffering. You MUST let go of me and become

another. You must be one with others by realisinginherent oneness.

Those who in past lives were not enlightened will now become enlightened. This is your vow, your aim. Do not let it weaken. Donot fool yourself. Recognise that you have vital work to do. Face the fact of your restlessness and waveringand dont take some vague experience that your mighthave had and believe that Oh this must be it.

When I meet with true Dharma, I will not doubt.

Alright, you have made the commitment. Now there issimply doing. This One doing. This One doing. In faith,with faith, please, completely exhaust yourself in this

One doing. I am sorry that Im not able to encourageand push you more ercely, but please I urge you,heartily believe in this, heartily believe in your Onedoing. Pour heart and soul into this One doing. Have

faith in THIS, THIS, your One doing. Have faith inyour practice. If you are counting the breath, this onecount. Stay with it. Just this one count. Following the

breath, One with this one breath. One. Do not look off.If you are working on a koan , do not do it vaguely andsuper cially. Give your self to it. All of your energy,heart and soul. Become this One doing. Shikantaza *. If you are doing shikantaza , of course, you cannot affordto be careless. Be specially attentive. Now, you mustnot look off. Steadily, steadily, steadily, still more, stillmore, carry through. Pour heart and soul into true self.

Now. Keep it up. Please.

*Shikantaza ( ) literally Just sitting.Refers to a meditation technique.

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Actus Builders

KYCL management committee has conducted several rounds of detailed and in-depth studiesof tender offers by the 3 short-listed contractors. We have carefully weighed various factorssuch as the costs, contractor building experience and the quality of work of their previous

projects. Together with expert advice from our building consultants, the managementcommittee has decided to award the tender to Actus Builders. The construction and furnishingcosts are estimated to be more than $4 million. Construction work will commence in early

March and is expected to complete in 1.5 years.

Due to the economic downturn and soaring construction costs, the preparation for the buildingconstruction has been delayed for some time. During this dif cult period, we are indeedgrateful for your con dence and support. It is your continued care and support that has carriedus through this trying period.

At present, we have raised more than $1 million. As this amount is still far from our target of $4 million, we appeal for your continued support for this meaningful activity. The completionof the new building in 1.5 years time will bene t more people. Thank you for your support!

KYCL New Zen Centre Building Progress


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Bi-monthly Issue / Issue No. 56Spiritual Leader : Zen Master Seung Sahn

Abbot : Ven. Chi BoonEditor : Leow Wee KhengPrinter : Qiantai Printing &

Publishing Pte. Ltd.(T) 6743 0478

Publisher : Kwan Yin Chan Lin

[email protected]://www.kyclzen.org

Kwan Yin Chan Lin203C Lavender Street, Singapore 338763(T) +65 6392 0265 (Fax) +65 63924256

Pengerang International ZenMeditation Centre

Lot. 109 Telok Ramunia, 81620Pengerang Johor

(T) 0207 826 4848

, Thank you for your support

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Attain Self Realization -Zen Mirror- MarApr10

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