May there be happiness [well-being] in all May there be peace in all May there be completeness [fulfillment] in all May there be success [auspiciousness] in all
Om, Peace, Peace, Peace
* * *
It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless [i.e., cannot give life]. The words that I [Jesus] have spoken to you are spirit and life.
-Gospel of John 6.63 (NRSVUE)
Master Huineng says... though he apparently died long ago...
To encounter the Platform Sutra is the same as to be taught by me personally
While words come short of the truth, they convey the truth
We're beings of silence and speech
When words come from the silence, they have character and energy other words don't
Spiritual teachers arise from the silence the teaching arises with them, moment by moment
Spiritual teaching arises from the silence hence, silence teaches
Spiritual wisdom isn't words following words
Words arising from the silence returning to the silence is sacred wisdom
Hence, you can meet the Teacher through spoken or written words
You can hold a book, move the sight, and sit listening before wisdom
Words following words are within time words arising from the silence are timeless
The words move through time the truth never moves
When the words arise, where are words? Is truth? Together, nowhere.
* * *
*(C) Brian K. Wilcox, 2024. Permission is given to use photographs and writings with credit given to the copyright owner.
*Quote of Huineng from "The Platform Sutra." In Red Pine. Three Zen Sutras: The Heart, The Diamond, and The Platform Sutras. Huineng (d. 713), the Six Patriarch of Chinese Chan (Japanese, Zen) Buddhism, spoke the above words in preparing his disciples for his leaving the body.
*Brian is a lay Buddhist of the Plum Village lineage and practitioner in Open Heart Sangha North, Bath, Maine. He is a Buddhist, interspiritual chaplain, specializing in facilitating groups in correctional facilities and remote spiritual care.
*Brian's book is An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love. The book is a collection of poems Brian wrote based on wisdom traditions, predominantly Christian, Buddhist, and Sufi, with extensive notes on the poetry's teachings and imagery.
