Daman Hongren

thumb|Hongren|alt=Hongren.jpg Daman Hongren (c. 601–674) was the 5th Patriarch of Chan Buddhism. Quotes Hsiu-hsin yao lun (Treatise on the Essentials of Cultivating the Mind) as translated by John McRae, The Northern School and the Formation of Early Chʻan Buddhism (1986). Do not try to search outside yourself, which [only] leads to the suffering of saṃsāra. Maintain the same state of mind in every moment of thought, in every phase of mental activity. p. 126. People who practice mental concentration may inhibit the True Mind within themselves by being dependent on sensory perceptions, coarse states of mind, and restricted breathing. Before achieving mental purity, [such people may undertake] the constant practices of concentrating the mind and viewing the mind. Although they do so during all their activities, [such people] cannot achieve [mental] clarity and purity, nor illumine that mind which is the sources of all dharmas. p. 128 Category:Religious leaders from China Category:Buddhist teachers Category:7th century births Category:7th century deaths