12th January

Wishing to entice the blind,
the Buddha playfully let words escape
from his golden mouth;
Heaven and earth are filled, ever since,
with entangling briars.
Dai-o Kokushi.

When the Buddha achieved enlightenment it could be said that he dropped into reality and left his conscious mind behind. Because Buddha mind is conscious awareness of reality as it truly is, there is nothing to do, say or explain. However, the person we knew as the Buddha wished to entice the rest of humanity in to the Buddha space. He therefore gave instruction as to what Zen was not. The human mind and its reliance on words and ideas assumed these instructions were directions on how to achieve Buddhahood, instead they are like entangling briars one has to work through to see beyond.