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Hwadu & Lojong can intertwine and combine for effective practice into seeing your true nature and cultivating bodhicitta--the mind of compassion for all beings. Hwadu uses a question such as "What is this that's chanting the Buddha's name, driving a car, bowing, etc. We keep the hwadu with us at all times to lead us to the great Don't Know, where conceptual thought is seen as useless if nothing else. You can't conceptualize your way into awakening. And practicing hwadu can lead to the Sudden Awakening of our tradition. We also talk of Gradual Cultivation. Water isn't boiling until ity hits the boiling point, and then suddenly in that instant, it is boiling. In order to keep it at the boiling point, we have to keep the heat on, cultivating that bodhicitta and awakened state.
Lojong uses slogans, somewhat like a mantra or hwadu, but where hwadu and mantras are generally a single phrase, lojong uses "slogans," 59 of them in fact. The preliminary to through the ultimate slogans are used to keep that heat on. We start with compassion for all beings, then specific beings. Deep and systematic reflection on the four points of choice, impermanence, karma, and dukkha can keep the heat on. It helps us meet new situations with compassionate mind.
Hwadu helps the awakened mind arise, and lojong helps it grow more and more.
Dae'An Citta gave the Dharma talk at One Mind Zen on October 18, 2023.
