"The gnosis of a buddha is effortless, thus it is called non-conceptual." Indrabhūti, Jñānasiddhi
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Replying to @NoaidiX
Not that I could read the original, but I'd be curious what the terms are for "effortless" and "non-conceptual" here. It delights my mind to know an earlier English spelling of "concept" was "conceit," and to reflect on "effortless gnosis" as a matter of utter un-conceitedness.
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Replying to @bodhidave3
This translation was given to me by Vesna Wallace as a print-out in 2016 and fortunately includes the Sanskrit. "Effortless" appears to be from manābhogaṃ, while "non-conceptual" is from nirvikalpa. Of course, "gnosis" = jñāna.pic.twitter.com/hDpRwXWZjN
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Replying to @NoaidiX @bodhidave3
The second half of the verse is also noteworthy: "Having reflected upon [that], due to there being compassion it is not a state of no-thought."
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Replying to @NoaidiX @bodhidave3
No-thought is from niścitta, also referenced in verse 5.1, where "citta" can also convey mind. It serves as the name of a particular samādhi and seems to be alluding to the state discussed in verses 5.2 and 5.3.pic.twitter.com/nYu4F2wOTc
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Replying to @NoaidiX @bodhidave3
A particular type of seed will bear a corresponding type of crop. Dull practice will generate a dull mind. The bodhisattva path entails bright meditation for the sake of a bright mind that compassionately engages the world's suffering, not for withdrawing from it into darkness.
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Replying to @NoaidiX
A number of the above lines remind me of Chan calls against mind-blanking or "ghost-cave" experiencing, as in a famous dialog between Nanquan and his then student Zhaozhou. I don't know Chinese, but included here is a call against a nihilistic, neutral, heart-&-mind "blankness":pic.twitter.com/nW9PT1KWcQ
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Replying to @bodhidave3
Yes! 魔境 (mójìng in Chinese, makyō in Japanese)—a major reason for jhāna/dhyāna undergoing recontextualization in Chan/Zen, where "states" are usually dismissed as a dead-end (e.g., 槀木死灰, "dried wood & dead ash"), urging the practitioner outward & onward from the cave.
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Replying to @NoaidiX @bodhidave3
I really enjoyed your conversations. Thank you so much for this.
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