Think Neither Good Nor Evil

Text

The monk Huiming pursued the Sixth Patriarch to seize the robe and bowl. When he caught up, Huineng placed the robe and bowl on a rock and said, "This robe represents the dharma. It should not be fought over by force. Take it if you wish." Huiming tried to lift them but could not. Trembling, he said, "I came for the dharma, not for the robe." Huineng said, "Think neither good nor evil. At this very moment, what is your original face—the face you had before your mother and father were born?" At these words, Huiming was greatly enlightened.

license: public_domain

Attribution

• Speaker
  Dajian Huineng

Lineage: Early Chan

By Dajian Huineng

• A Beardless Foreignerkoan
• Do Not Think Good, Do Not Think Not-Goodkoan
• Not The Wind, Not The Flagkoan
• Your Original Faceproverb
• It Is Your Mind That Movesproverb

From Platform Sutra

• Your Original Face
• It Is Your Mind That Moves
• Platform Sutra: On Self-Nature
• Platform Sutra: No-Thought, No-Form, No-Abiding
• The Robe and Bowl Transmission to Huineng
• There Is No Mirror Stand
• Without Thinking Good or Evil
• Not the Flag, Not the Wind
• Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (Liùzǔ Tánjīng)

Sources

• contentWikisource — English-language free library

  Platform Sutra, encounter with Huiming

  Platform Sutra: Think Neither Good Nor Evil