Is practice unnecessary?

In my Zen teachings, I often mention the Zen concept of forgetting the distinction between the saint and the ordinary man. This is a point of departure between Indian Buddhism and Zen. The Indian mind tends to make a clear distinction between the sacred and the profane, the spiritual and the mundane, the pure and the defiled. In addition, there are notions of hierarchy and rankings in Indian Buddhism. Early Buddhism and Theravada, for example, differentiate between the four progressive stages of enlightenment, culminating in full enlightenment as an Arahant. In the Platform Sutra, however, the Sixth Patriarch, Hui Neng, advised the practitioners to “forget about saintliness and ordinariness.” Why so? Because saintliness can become another ego trip. We can get some insights on this by listening to contemporary Zen master, Seung Sahn, who warned against the “hero mind.”

Zen mind is clear mind, always clear mind. Clear mind means, everyday mind is Truth. Cold water is cold. Hot water is hot. Not special. So, somebody thinks, “I want to experience difficult practicing.” Then O.K. But if they always keep difficult practicing, that is making something. If you make something, if you are attached to something, then that thing hinders you, and you cannot get complete freedom. Maybe you will get freedom from some things, but not perfectly complete freedom. Then what is perfectly complete? Don’t hold “I,” “my,”…