Zen Doctrine of No Mind: The Significance of the Sutra of Huineng

What I like about DTS is his articulate command of english exposition. And dont forget his enlightenment as a zen monk. Unusual.

Whenever we are treated to a book written by Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, the late Japanese academic scholar and Zen practitioner, we can count ourselves as being in the capable hands of a master expositor of the original Zen tradition of Buddhism. With this book, _The Zen Doctrine of No-Mind, The Significance of the Sutra of Hui-neng (Wei-lang)_, we are taken into the inner sanctuary of the Zen teachings as they were expressed by one of its greatest early propounders, Hui-neng, the Sixth -- and last -- Patriarch of Zen. As Suzuki tells us, Hui-neng was somewhat of an unlikely hero of early Chinese Chan/Zen as he was an illiterate day-worker in the rice mill at the monastery of his master Hung-jen, the Fifth Patriarch of Chan/Zen. Hui-neng had overheard someone reciting the Diamond Sutra one day and had an awakening. He immediately decided to seek the way of Buddhahood, and eventually spent a month travelling on foot to reach the Patriarch's monastery in the mountains. In the opening paragraph of the book, Suzuki pays the highest tribute he can to Hui-neng by comparing the effect that his legacy had on the tradition of Zen as second only to that of its founder, Bodhidharma: "Without Hui-neng and his immediate disciples, Zen might never have developed as it did in the early T'ang period of Chinese history." He then goes on to praise the work attributed to Hui-neng, the Platform Sermons of the Sixth Patriarch, as an important addition to the Zen tradition overall, saying that: "It was through this work that Bodhi-Dharma's office as the first proclaimer of Zen thought in China came to be properly defined." It is interesting to note that this work that has been attributed to Hui-neng has been, as far as scholars are concerned, under suspicion as it may have been written by his disciples, and the fact that there is little evidence to link its composition directly to him. Although it is generally accepted that its contents were expounded (or at least recalled by those who compiled them) by Hui-neng. Be this controversy as it may, there is no doubt in the history of contemplative literature of the authenticity of this message. And by the time the attentive reader finishes reading _The Zen Doctrine of No-Mind_ there is equally no doubt in his mind either. What we find here on many occasions is corroboration and parity with the teachings of the original Buddha, Siddhattha Gotama, thus validating, at least in part, Chan/Zen's link to the authentic Dharma as taught by Gotama. In modern times, Zen has been generally noted as having a slightly eccentric and different way of approaching its training and explanation of the meaning of its teachings. But here, we come across passages that could conceivably have come from the mouth of the Originator of the Dharma. We can see this similarity in a passage from the author such as the following: "So long as the seeing is something to see, it is not the real one; only when the seeing is no-seeing -- that is, when the s

I have read about fifteen books on Zen. This one book helped me more than any other book on Zen. The big advantage of this book is the author's own realization of Satori, combined with his excellent understanding of English. Whatever may have been lost in the translation of the original Buddhist scriptures has been restored by this author. This is the only author that has both a deep realization, and an excellent command of the English language.

This book, edited and published after the death of D. T. Suzuki, may be said to be as much a book of analysis of Zen as of Zen itself. It combines quotations from the Zen tradition with much comment on them and the subject in general. These comments include references to western psychology and Christianity. It is a good source of material for thinking about Zen.

D.T. Suzuki writes very clearly what many who preceded him have stated, "the zen doctrine states there is no enlightenment to attain" ... The reader then is left to ponder, why buy the book? The answer is deceptively simple, maybe it is too simple ... perhaps to get insight into one's own mind and how it works.The classic conundrum for human beings is -- seeing and understanding "the simple things". We create meandering pathways in our minds and attach emotions to these thoughts -- then we attach feelings to those thoughts -- we follow the thoughts and feelings believing that what we think is reality itself. Thinking is not the same as reality! Three sentences from this extraordinairy book illustrate my point. "As the attainment of the Tao does not involve a continuous movement from error to truth, from ignorance to enlightenment, from 'mayori' to 'satori', the Zen masters all proclaim there is no enlightenment whatsoever, which you can claim to have attained." [p.53] "The doctrine of the Unconcsious as expounded here is, psychologically translated, that of absolute passivity or absolute obedience. It may also be translated as the teaching of humility." [p.67] This should serve to whet the appetite of those who are on the road to self-discovery ... for anyone else the book is useless. Erika Borsos (erikab93)(revised)

Of all the modern works on Zen, this book is unique. Through careful pacing, D.T. Suzuki generates the state of No Mind in the reader. To read this book is to not only understand it, but to directly contact the Zen Mind. This is not a hip or facile text, but one that stands on its own next to the great Sutras of earlier ages. Read as meditation, and meditating as one reads, this book is a mighty sword. Read for information alone, it will perhaps arouse the desire to meditate and attend to the art of mindfulfness