The Sutras are the words of the Buddha, Zen is the mind of the Buddha. We use the Sutras (words) to get to the wordless, Zen uses the wordless to arruve at the wordless. The Buddha held up a flower, Mahakashyapa smiled, thus came the Mind to Mind transmission through all of the Patrirarchs and ancestors, right up to you right now.
But the Flower Sermon (words of the Buddha about silence), Mahakashyapa's smile, Vimilakikrti's Thunderous Silence are wonderful! Silent meditation is wonderful! Both point to our intuitive before-thought nature, which manifests with no interference from our brains and mouths.
I've typed too much already.
Myeong Jin Eunsahn gave the Dharma talk on August 2, 2023.
