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20130120

Meditation is not Empty of Thought

Meditating until your mind is empty of thought is foolish and dangerous because you could go insane from practicing no-thought in such a manner.

Since no-thought is thought; and thought, no-thought, it stands to reason to allow your thoughts to flow, and on realizing this, tell yourself "Thinking".

Then go back to counting your breath.

If, during Nembutsu practice, you forget to chant the name of Amida, then go back to counting your breath.

When you desire to burn evil karma and accumulate the merit of good karma, return to chanting the Nembutsu.

Meditation is all about mindfulness. What is mindfulness? Mindfulness is Buddha Remembrance. For when you chant the name of Amida, your mind is full of the Buddha. This is what Buddha Remembrance means.

Buddha Remembrance consists of chanting the name of Amida (Nembutsu). Even the Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism practiced it.

Therefore Zen Buddhists who decry Pure Land practice within their tradition, calling it a cheat and promoting attachment of reward i.e. rebirth in the Pure Land of Bliss, are ignorant of the Sixth Patriarch's endorsement of Buddha Remembrance.


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