Nameless

Beings depend on wu in coming into existence, in becoming what they are. Affairs on account of wu come to fruition and become what they are. Now, one tries to speak about wu, but no words could describe it; name it, but it has no name; look at it, but it does not have any form; listen to it, but it does not give any sound. Then, indeed, it is clear that the Dao is complete. Thus, it can bring forth sounds and echoes; generate Qi-energies and things; establish form and spirit; and illuminate light and shadows. What is dark obtains its blackness from it; what is plain obtains its whiteness from it. The carpenter’s square is able to make a square because of it; the compass is able to make a circle because of it. The round and the square obtain their form, but that which gives them their form itself does not have any form. The white and the black obtain their name, but that which gives them their name itself does not have any name.

-He Yan, Dao Lun

The Mode of a Lunatic

All things are mere labels, for in actuality they are beyond
characterization or expression.
Having decisively experienced that samsara is not confusion and nirvana
is not freedom,
let no one make any effort!
Let no one try to meddle with or alter this!

Awareness, with no breadth or depth,
is not subject to restrictions or extremes, so give up any frame of reference.
Awareness, involving no plans or actions, no coming or going,
entails no time frame or antidote, so drop reification and effort.
If there is a deliberate frame of reference, it is a cause of bondage.
Do not rely on any fixed construct whatsoever--let go in evenness!

It is of no concern whether or not all phenomena are timelessly free.
It is of no concern whether or not the way of abiding is pure by nature.
It is of no concern whether or not mind itself is free of elaboration.
It is of no concern whether or not anything has ever existed within the
fundamentally unconditioned, genuine state.

It is of no concern whether or not samsara and nirvana are by nature a duality.
It is of no concern whether or not all thoughts and expressions are transcended.
It is of no concern whether or not confused attempts at proof and
refutation are demolished.
It is of no concern whether or not the view to be realized has been realized.

It is of no concern whether or not you meditate on the ultimate meaning
of the true nature of phenomena.
It is of no concern whether or not you engage in examination, since
there is nothing to accept or reject.
It is of no concern whether or not the way of abiding has ever existed as
the fruition.
It is of no concern whether or not you have traversed the paths and
levels of realization.

It is of no concern whether or not you are free of all obscurations.
It is of no concern whether or not the development and completion
stages perfect your true nature.
It is of no concern whether or not the fruition of liberation is attained.
It is of no concern whether or not you wander in the six realms of samsara.

It is of no concern whether or not the nature of being is spontaneous presence.
It is of no concern whether or not you are bound by dualistic perceptions
of affirmation and denial.
It is of no concern whether or not you have arrived at the enlightened
intent of the true nature of phenomena.
It is of no concern whether or not you follow in the footsteps of masters
of the past.

No matter what arises, even if heaven and earth change places,
there is a bare state of relaxed openness, without any underlying basis.
Without any reference point--nebulous, ephemeral, and evanescent--
this is the mode of a lunatic, free from the duality of hope and fear.
With unbiased view and meditation, ordinary consciousness that is
caught up in reification collapses.
without the entanglements of wishful thinking, there is no "thing" to
strive for or achieve.
Let whatever happens happen and whatever manifests manifest.
Let whatever occurs occur and whatever is be.
Let whatever is anything at all be nothing at all.

With your conduct unpredictable, you make the final leap into awareness
without the slightest basis for determining what is spiritual or not,
and so this bare state with no reference point is beyond the cage of philosophy.
Whether eating, moving around, lying down, or sitting, day and night
you rest in infinite evenness,
so that you experience the true nature of phenomena as their equalness.
There are no gods to worship, no demons to exorcise,
nothing to cultivate in meditation -- this is the completely "ordinary" state.
With this single state of evenness -- the uncontrived ruler has no pride --
there is oneness, a relaxed and unstructured openness.
How delightful -- things are timelessly ensured without having to be done,
and being free of effort and achievement, you are content.

-Longchenpa, The Precious Treasury of the Basic Space of Phenomena

Zen & Archery

An ancient Zen master said that zen is like learning archery; only after long practice do you hit the bullseye.

Enlightenment is experienced instantaneously, but Zen work must be done over a long time, like a bird that when first hatched is naked and scrawny, but then grows feathers as it is nourished, until it can fly high and far.

Therefore those who have attained clear penetrating enlightenment then need fine tuning.

When it comes to worldly situations, by which ordinary people get suffocated, those who have attained Zen get through them all by being empty. Thus everything is their own gateway to liberation.

...

Set aside all the slogans you have learned and all the intellectual views that stick to your skin and cling to your flesh. Make your mind empty, not manifesting any thoughts on your own, not doing anything at all. Then you can attain thoroughgoing Zen experience.

But even when you reach this point, you should still realize that there is progressive action that transcends a teacher.

-Master Yuanwu