Indra's net. "Imagine a multidimensional spider's web in the early morning covered with dew drops.
And every dew drop contains the reflection of all the other dew drops. And, in each reflected dew drop, the reflections of all the other dew drops in that reflection. And so ad infinitum. That is the Buddhist conception of the universe in an image. " –Alan Watts[1] Indra's net (also called Indra's jewels or Indra's pearls, from इंद्रजाल in Sanskrit) is a metaphor used to illustrate the concepts of emptiness, dependent origination,[3] and interpenetration[4] in Buddhist philosophy. The metaphor of Indra's net was developed by the Mahayana school in the 3rd century scriptures of the Avatamsaka Sutra and later by the Huayan school between the 6th and 8th centuries. Huayan school[edit] Far away in the heavenly abode of the great god Indra, there is a wonderful net which has been hung by some cunning artificer in such a manner that it stretches out infinitely in all directions. Cognition[edit] Indra[edit] Xinxin Ming. Xinxin Ming (alt. spellings: Xin Xin Ming or Xinxinming) (信心銘) (Wade–Giles: Hsin Hsin Ming; Japanese: Shinjinmei or Shinjin no Mei), Faith in mind, is a poem attributed to the Third Chinese Chan (Zen) Patriarch Jianzhi Sengcan 僧璨 (d. 606) (Wade–Giles: Chien-chih Seng-ts'an; Japanese: Kanchi Sosan), is one of the earliest Chinese Chan expressions of the Buddhist mind training practice.
Title translation[edit] "Xinxin" has commonly been interpreted as "faith" or "trust. " For example, one translation is "Faith in Mind" (See The Poetry of Enlightenment: Poems by Ancient Ch'an Masters, Ch'an Master Sheng-Yen). While this interpretation may appear to some to be a departure from the traditional view of seeking refuge in the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha), it is actually a deliberate declaration and poetic polemic of the Chan (Zen) school written as a response to the increasingly popular movement of faith in Amitaba Buddha known as Pure Land Buddhism. Authorship[edit] History[edit] And:
Hsin-hsin-ming Verses on the Faith Mind. Verses on the Faith Mind by The 3rd Zen Patriarch, Sengstau The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences.
When love and hate are both absent everything becomes clear and undisguised. Make the smallest distinction, however, and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart. If you wish to see the truth then hold no opinions for or against anything. To set up what you like against what you dislike is the disease of the mind. When the deep meaning of things is not understood the mind's essential peace is disturbed to no avail. The Way is perfect like vast space when nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess.
Indeed, it is due to our choosing to accept or reject that we do not see the true nature of things. Live neither in the entanglements of outer things nor in inner feelings of emptiness. Be serene in the oneness of things and such erroneous views will disappear by themselves. When you try to stop activity to achieve passivity your very effort fills you with activity. Words!