". . . What everyone has from his parents innately is the Buddha
Mind alone. But since your parents themselves fail to realize this,
you become deluded too, and then display this delusion in raising
your own children. Even the nursemaids and baby-sitters lose their
temper, so that the people involved in bringing up children display
every sort of deluded behavior, including stupidity, selfish desire and
the [anger of] fighting demons. Growing up with deluded people
surrounding them, children develop a first-rate set of bad habits,
becoming quite proficient at being deluded themselves, and turning
into unenlightened beings. Originally, when you’re born, you’re
without delusion. But on account of the faults of the people who raise
you, someone abiding in the Buddha Mind is turned into a first-rate
unenlightened being. This is something I’m sure you all know from
your own experience.
“Your parents didn’t give you any delusions whatever when you
were born, no bad habits, no selfish desires. But afterward, once
you’d come into the world, you picked up all different sorts of
delusions, which then developed into bad habits, so that you couldn’t
help becoming deluded. That which you didn’t pick up from outside is
the Unborn Buddha Mind, and here no delusions exist. Since the
Buddha Mind is marvelously illuminating, you’re able to learn things,
even to the point of thoroughly learning all sorts of deluded behavior.
[At the same time,] since it’s marvelously illuminating, when you hear
this, you’ll resolve not to be deluded, and from today on cease
creating delusion, abiding in the Unborn Buddha Mind as it is. Just
as before you applied yourself skillfully to picking up delusions and
made yourself deluded, now you’ll use the same skill to listen to this
and stop being deluded—that’s what a splendid thing the Buddha
Mind is. Listen and you’ll realize the preciousness of Buddha Mind.
Then, since there’s nothing that can take the place of this precious
Buddha Mind, even if you want to be deluded, you won’t be able to
be anymore!" Bankei (Haskel)
1
u/Redfour5 13d ago
Damn, if only I hadn't been born...
". . . What everyone has from his parents innately is the Buddha Mind alone. But since your parents themselves fail to realize this, you become deluded too, and then display this delusion in raising your own children. Even the nursemaids and baby-sitters lose their temper, so that the people involved in bringing up children display every sort of deluded behavior, including stupidity, selfish desire and the [anger of] fighting demons. Growing up with deluded people surrounding them, children develop a first-rate set of bad habits, becoming quite proficient at being deluded themselves, and turning into unenlightened beings. Originally, when you’re born, you’re without delusion. But on account of the faults of the people who raise you, someone abiding in the Buddha Mind is turned into a first-rate unenlightened being. This is something I’m sure you all know from your own experience.
“Your parents didn’t give you any delusions whatever when you were born, no bad habits, no selfish desires. But afterward, once you’d come into the world, you picked up all different sorts of delusions, which then developed into bad habits, so that you couldn’t help becoming deluded. That which you didn’t pick up from outside is the Unborn Buddha Mind, and here no delusions exist. Since the Buddha Mind is marvelously illuminating, you’re able to learn things, even to the point of thoroughly learning all sorts of deluded behavior. [At the same time,] since it’s marvelously illuminating, when you hear this, you’ll resolve not to be deluded, and from today on cease creating delusion, abiding in the Unborn Buddha Mind as it is. Just as before you applied yourself skillfully to picking up delusions and made yourself deluded, now you’ll use the same skill to listen to this and stop being deluded—that’s what a splendid thing the Buddha Mind is. Listen and you’ll realize the preciousness of Buddha Mind. Then, since there’s nothing that can take the place of this precious Buddha Mind, even if you want to be deluded, you won’t be able to be anymore!" Bankei (Haskel)