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The Zen Doctrine of No-Mind: The Significance of the Sūtra of Hui-Neng
Dedicated largely to the teaching of Hui Neng, this volume covers the purpose and technique of Zen training, and goes further into the depths of Zen than any other work of modern times. Here we find no reliance on scripture or a Savior, for the student isshown how to go beyond thought in order to achieve a state of consciousness beyond duality.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
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About the author
D.T. Suzuki
325 books453 followersDaisetsu Teitaro Suzuki (鈴木 大拙 貞太郎 Suzuki Daisetsu Teitarō; rendered "Daisetz" after 1893) was Professor of Buddhist philosophies at Ōtani University. As a translator and writer on Buddhism and Eastern philosophy, he greatly helped to popularize Japanese Zen in the West.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 17, 2009
Hui-Neng, known as the Sixth Zen Patriarch, established the idea that enlightenment came suddenly and that it should not be sought by slowly and progressively cleaning the mirror of one's mind. Suzuki's free-flowing exploration of the Sutra of Hui-Neng is not nearly as obscure as one might expect. I read it a long time ago, and in looking at it again, I find that it had more of an impact on me than I had realized.
November 28, 2024
This book is amazing. It approches Zen and the doctrine of the Platform Sutra from a philosophical perspective, while also relating Zen doctrine to Western philosophy and psychology. D.T. Suzuki starts out with the fundamental metaphysical problem of Mahayana Buddhism: if the subject-object distinction is an illusion, how does the practice of "cleaning the mind" make sense? He then explains what dhyana and prajna are not, and moves on to how to actually understand self-nature and reach the state of no-mind/wu-nian (無念). Suzuki's book gave me much deeper insight onto what no-mind really means, and fundamental issues in the understanding of Zen.
July 13, 2019
Suzuki's writings have a clarity that helps to illumine what is a difficult subject. Well worth the effort. This is an intro to the more complex Essays.
June 30, 2020
I first read this book over fifty years ago, as a student. In those days Zen was a very trendy thing, and there were many writers popularizing various more or less half baked views of Zen. I liked this book because although it was no more comprehensible than the rest, it seemed to have been long enough in the oven, and even had a cherry on top.
The book ostensibly concerns the famous gatha of Hui Neng, by means of which he ascended to the position of the sixth Patriarch of Chinese Zen Buddhism. But I’ve come tot the conclusion that it is actually a not too subtle diatribe against certain tendencies which linger in Zen down to the present day.
If you read this book, you will probably feel that it leaves you no wiser about what “no-mind” really is. In fact the notable thing about Hui Neng’s gatha, and the view of Zen he promulgated, is not so much what it is, but what it isn’t. Suzuki points out time and time again that Hui Neng and his followers were deeply opposed to the “gradual” school of Zen, to the idea that performing ritual meditations for year after year would finally lead one to Buddhahood. Quoting Huangbo Xiyun he says “If you wish to attain Buddhahood by practising the six virtues of perfection and all the ten-thousand deeds of goodness, this is prescribing a course, and since beginningless time there have never been Buddhas graduating from a prescribed course.”
From this standpoint, the view of Hui Neng and his school might easily be compared to the school of protestantism founded by Martin Luther as a reaction to the Catholic teaching that by giving donations to the church salvation might be attained. And just as the Catholic church still thrives in some parts of the world so the “dust-wiping” gradualist tendency still exists in some schools of Zen, and as you can imagine, such cults are a lot easier to get into than to get out of.
What Suzuki actually means by “no-mind” is harder to fathom than what he doesn’t mean. But a glimpse might be found in a quotation from Shen Hui, “Prajna is spoken of when it is seen that this body is unattainable, remaining perfectly quiescent and serene all the time, and yet functioning mysteriously in ways beyond calculation.” This certainly points to a very dynamic view of the unconscious, and something very far from simply a mirror from which impure thoughts have been erased. It reminds me strongly of the famous Einstein quote, “To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, which our dull facilities can comprehend only in the most primitive forms--this knowledge, this feeling, is at the center of true religiousness.”
If you are vaguely curious about Zen you might not get a lot from this book, but if you plan to venture into Zen training you should definitely read it, and ponder it well.
The book ostensibly concerns the famous gatha of Hui Neng, by means of which he ascended to the position of the sixth Patriarch of Chinese Zen Buddhism. But I’ve come tot the conclusion that it is actually a not too subtle diatribe against certain tendencies which linger in Zen down to the present day.
If you read this book, you will probably feel that it leaves you no wiser about what “no-mind” really is. In fact the notable thing about Hui Neng’s gatha, and the view of Zen he promulgated, is not so much what it is, but what it isn’t. Suzuki points out time and time again that Hui Neng and his followers were deeply opposed to the “gradual” school of Zen, to the idea that performing ritual meditations for year after year would finally lead one to Buddhahood. Quoting Huangbo Xiyun he says “If you wish to attain Buddhahood by practising the six virtues of perfection and all the ten-thousand deeds of goodness, this is prescribing a course, and since beginningless time there have never been Buddhas graduating from a prescribed course.”
From this standpoint, the view of Hui Neng and his school might easily be compared to the school of protestantism founded by Martin Luther as a reaction to the Catholic teaching that by giving donations to the church salvation might be attained. And just as the Catholic church still thrives in some parts of the world so the “dust-wiping” gradualist tendency still exists in some schools of Zen, and as you can imagine, such cults are a lot easier to get into than to get out of.
What Suzuki actually means by “no-mind” is harder to fathom than what he doesn’t mean. But a glimpse might be found in a quotation from Shen Hui, “Prajna is spoken of when it is seen that this body is unattainable, remaining perfectly quiescent and serene all the time, and yet functioning mysteriously in ways beyond calculation.” This certainly points to a very dynamic view of the unconscious, and something very far from simply a mirror from which impure thoughts have been erased. It reminds me strongly of the famous Einstein quote, “To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, which our dull facilities can comprehend only in the most primitive forms--this knowledge, this feeling, is at the center of true religiousness.”
If you are vaguely curious about Zen you might not get a lot from this book, but if you plan to venture into Zen training you should definitely read it, and ponder it well.
September 16, 2013
Fu kicked a dog which happened to be there, and the dog gave a cry and ran away. The monk made no response, whereupon Fu said: 'Poor dog, you were kicked in vain.'
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October 26, 2019Buddhism holds appeal for me, though I know little about it. What I understand of it has enticed me to look deeper. While reading The Zen Doctrine of No-mind, a bit by a favorite comedian kept coming to mind. Tim Minchin is an Aussie musical comedian. The bit? “If you open your mind too much, your brain will fall out.” It seems to me that it both captures my more cynical, ironic reading of the book, and an earnest, concise synopsis of the philosophy espoused in it.
On the cynical side, the book is impenetrably dense. Some of this is linguistic. Buddhism originated in India, the book is written in the early twentieth century by a Japanese scholar about a Chinese Zen master from over a millennium ago. The author is self-aware about this barrier:
"I sometimes find myself at a loss to present the exact meaning of the Chinese writers whose translations are given… The Chinese sentences are very loosely strung together, and each component character is not at all flexible. While read in the original, the sense seems to be clear enough, but when it is to be presented in translation more precision is required to comply with the construction of the language used, in our case English. To do this, much violence is to be practiced on the genius of the original Chinese."
But language is not the only limitation. The Zen worldview denies that enlightenment is to be had by intellectual examination. It follows then that a book trying to illuminate that perspective may struggle. A good number of pages are dedicated to anecdotes and dialogues usually involving a student and a master. As often as not, the anecdotes end with the master striking the student. I would be lying if I claimed any clarity from these pages. The author himself opines at the end of one such story, “…the trouble with Zen is that it always refuses to remain ordinary, though claiming to be ordinary.”
You tell me.
On the more earnest side, Zen is an acceptance of dichotomy and a rejection of classification. Which is to say, a thing is any two diametrically opposed characterizations and neither of those things all at once. The eponymous doctrine of no-mind is a rejection of the mind’s role in enlightenment. It would thus not be demeaning to say, “if you open your mind too much, your brain will fall out.”
That is the best I got. I cannot pretend to understand but I’m not sure any great Zen master would celebrate if I claimed that I did.
On the cynical side, the book is impenetrably dense. Some of this is linguistic. Buddhism originated in India, the book is written in the early twentieth century by a Japanese scholar about a Chinese Zen master from over a millennium ago. The author is self-aware about this barrier:
"I sometimes find myself at a loss to present the exact meaning of the Chinese writers whose translations are given… The Chinese sentences are very loosely strung together, and each component character is not at all flexible. While read in the original, the sense seems to be clear enough, but when it is to be presented in translation more precision is required to comply with the construction of the language used, in our case English. To do this, much violence is to be practiced on the genius of the original Chinese."
But language is not the only limitation. The Zen worldview denies that enlightenment is to be had by intellectual examination. It follows then that a book trying to illuminate that perspective may struggle. A good number of pages are dedicated to anecdotes and dialogues usually involving a student and a master. As often as not, the anecdotes end with the master striking the student. I would be lying if I claimed any clarity from these pages. The author himself opines at the end of one such story, “…the trouble with Zen is that it always refuses to remain ordinary, though claiming to be ordinary.”
You tell me.
On the more earnest side, Zen is an acceptance of dichotomy and a rejection of classification. Which is to say, a thing is any two diametrically opposed characterizations and neither of those things all at once. The eponymous doctrine of no-mind is a rejection of the mind’s role in enlightenment. It would thus not be demeaning to say, “if you open your mind too much, your brain will fall out.”
That is the best I got. I cannot pretend to understand but I’m not sure any great Zen master would celebrate if I claimed that I did.
May 24, 2024
This is a difficult book to review. Many of the translations from Zen records are excellent and very clear. But I dislike Suzuki's commentarial approach. He is striving to present Zen as an expression of a universal religiosity also found in Christian mysticism and, more strangly still, in psychoanalysis. Therefore, he translates wu nian (literally "no thought" or "holding on to no intention") as "the Unconscious." I think that this argument for universality leads him to blur the meaning of the traditions he refers to. His presentation of the Unconcious is a particularly egregious example, since wu nian and the Freudian Unconcious are almost perfect opposites. The former, in my opinion (these are difficult concepts, and you can disagree with me if you wish) is a state of awareness that is not attached to particular desires or intentions or representations of the world. The Freudian Unconcious, on the contrary, is a mass of intentions and drives that are thought to persist and to underly the conscious mind but are devoid of awareness. You can certainly do comparisons of psychoanalysis with Buddhist psychology if you are very careful. But it's hard to ground a systematic psychology on the sorts of Zen texts Suzuki appeals to. (He could make his position clearer by appealing to traditions of explicit Mahayanist psychology like Yogacara). I think that by drawing on the authority of Western traditions like Psychoanalysis without a much more careful analysis Suzuki muddies the waters. But there are also refreshing and beautiful passages in this book. In short, I give this 4 stars for the selection and translation of Zen texts and 2 stars for certain aspects of Suzuki's commentary.
July 3, 2021
So while it is always pointing at that universal transcendent thing, on the surface Suzuki spends much of the book talking about the historical conflicts that emerged between some of the early Chinese Buddhist schools. And while it's always wonderful to have access to the words of the old masters - and Suzuki is a delightful guide through their humour and their wisdom - what I found the most interesting is the parallels between Buddhism integrating into China and Buddhism integrating in the West now.
It's not an easy thing to turn into a religion. At it's core, it is beyond dualities, beyond good/evil, and so what the hell are you supposed to do with that haha... and so.. there is temptation to turn even non-dualism into a purist thing... to turn sitting into another trap... to turn the sutras into another delusion..
Suzuki hits us with the lightning of Hui-neng, whose compassion broke the purity of those practicing in ancient China, and it has the power to break our purity now :) It's a fun book. Enjoy :)
It's not an easy thing to turn into a religion. At it's core, it is beyond dualities, beyond good/evil, and so what the hell are you supposed to do with that haha... and so.. there is temptation to turn even non-dualism into a purist thing... to turn sitting into another trap... to turn the sutras into another delusion..
Suzuki hits us with the lightning of Hui-neng, whose compassion broke the purity of those practicing in ancient China, and it has the power to break our purity now :) It's a fun book. Enjoy :)
November 14, 2019
MU (OR WU) IS TO NEGATE THE NOTION OF THE TWO FORMS (DUALISM) AND TO GET RID OF A MIND THAT WORRIES OVER THINGS.
Purity really means nothingness.
When hearing is no-hearing there is real hearing.
If you say you have attained something this is the surest proof that you have gone astray.
Suchness means the Absolute, something that is not subject to the laws of relativity, and therefore which cannot be grasped by means or form.
When hungry one eats, when tired one sleeps. Just this. No ideal thoughts.
Prajna-mind = non-discrimination.
Zen Buddhism stands firmly on experience as the basic principle of its teaching.
Purity really means nothingness.
When hearing is no-hearing there is real hearing.
If you say you have attained something this is the surest proof that you have gone astray.
Suchness means the Absolute, something that is not subject to the laws of relativity, and therefore which cannot be grasped by means or form.
When hungry one eats, when tired one sleeps. Just this. No ideal thoughts.
Prajna-mind = non-discrimination.
Zen Buddhism stands firmly on experience as the basic principle of its teaching.
September 4, 2019
Some parts were quite repetitive and others were difficult to grasp as a student in the West. However, I think there is much more tangible knowledge and history of the different types of Zen in this book which is more useful than the other Suzuki text on the Beginner's Mind. Nice for anyone wanting to learn more about Buddhism.
August 5, 2017
'No Mind' doctrine is deep and dense.
May 3, 2019
Una lettura non facile per me, probabilmente non sono abbastanza in sintonia con questa filosofia. Ci sono passaggi interessanti, molti però per me sono stati privi di significato.
August 2, 2021
Agito, ergo sum.
December 5, 2021
Great book, but only if you have a solid background in Zen thought. Otherwise it's probably too much at once. Might have to reread The Diamond Sutra now. Maybe that will help with digesting all this.
August 30, 2022
"...the unattainability of all things is reality itself." Yep.
July 10, 2025
Challenging. Interesting. Worthwhile. At times too advanced for me to comprehend but also in essence basic.
March 10, 2012
This is a wonderful exploration of the ideas of Huineng (638-713), who is one of the most important figures in the history of Zen Buddhism. It gives the reader a solid understanding of how he changed the trajectory of Buddhism in China—especially with regard to meditation.
Many of Huineng's contemporaries saw meditation as a deliberate exercise aimed at "clearing" the mind in order to find deeper purity within. The most famous expression of this view occurs in a short verse written by Shenxiu (one of the senior students of Hui-neng's master):
On this, Suzuki comments,
To Hui-neng, this view was one fraught with attachment to intellectual constructs. He says,
For him, enlightenment is found neither by deliberately grasping at concepts, nor by striving to create mental states; these are nothing but more subtle forms of attachment and clinging.
Suzuki criticizes Shenxiu's "dust-wiping attitude" toward meditation for its quietism, calling it "the exercise of killing life, of keeping the mind in a state of torpor and making [its practitioners] socially useless" (p. 32). Unfortunately, he never elaborates on the role of social action in Huineng's thought. I do not think the word "compassion," for example, occurs even one time in this book. But in Huineng's own writings, we encounter statements like,
And,
And,
Because it neglects this dimension of Huineng's teachings, Suzuki's book feels incomplete. It is well worth reading for anyone interested in Zen Buddhism, but its limitations should be kept in mind (or no-mind!).
Many of Huineng's contemporaries saw meditation as a deliberate exercise aimed at "clearing" the mind in order to find deeper purity within. The most famous expression of this view occurs in a short verse written by Shenxiu (one of the senior students of Hui-neng's master):
The body is the bodhi tree
The mind is like a bright mirror's stand.
At all times we must strive to polish it
and must not let dust collect.
On this, Suzuki comments,
This dust-wiping attitude of Shenxiu and his followers inevitably leads to the quietistic method of meditation, and it was indeed the method which they recommended. They taught that entering into a Samadhi by means of concentration, and the purifying of the mind by making it dwell on one thought. They further taught that by the awakening of thoughts an objective world was illumined, and that when they were folded up an inner world was perceived. (p. 18)
To Hui-neng, this view was one fraught with attachment to intellectual constructs. He says,
When you cherish the notion of purity and cling to it, you turn purity into falsehood. ... Purity has neither form nor shape, and when you claim an achievement by establishing a form to be known as purity, you obstruct your own self-nature, you are bound by purity. (p. 27)
For him, enlightenment is found neither by deliberately grasping at concepts, nor by striving to create mental states; these are nothing but more subtle forms of attachment and clinging.
Suzuki criticizes Shenxiu's "dust-wiping attitude" toward meditation for its quietism, calling it "the exercise of killing life, of keeping the mind in a state of torpor and making [its practitioners] socially useless" (p. 32). Unfortunately, he never elaborates on the role of social action in Huineng's thought. I do not think the word "compassion," for example, occurs even one time in this book. But in Huineng's own writings, we encounter statements like,
Respecting all living beings is where you conquer your own mind. (Cleary, p. 92)
And,
Confused people who sit in meditation fanatically trying to get rid of illusion and do not learn kindness, compassion, joyfulness, equanimity, wisdom, and expedient skills, and so are like wood or stone, without any function, are called nonthinking. (Cleary, p. 93)
And,
When ordinary people practice charity, they are just seeking personal dignity, or enjoyment of pleasure: that is why they plunge back into the three mires when their rewards are used up. The [Buddha] is very kind, teaching the practice of formless charity, not seeking personal dignity or pleasure; he just has us inwardly destroy the attitude of stinginess while outwardly helping all beings. (Cleary, p. 95)
Because it neglects this dimension of Huineng's teachings, Suzuki's book feels incomplete. It is well worth reading for anyone interested in Zen Buddhism, but its limitations should be kept in mind (or no-mind!).
July 11, 2024
D.T. Suzuki is arguably the most prolific popularizer of Zen in West from the early to mid twentieth century and The Zen Doctrine of No-Mind is among his best. Though criticized for his lack of experience in practice and his very Western education, I'd argue that this puts him in a strong position to provide scholarship to a Western audience unfamiliar with the often difficult and cryptic teachings of Zen Buddhism. In this work, Suzuki analyzes Hui-Neng's Platform Sutra, an early, pivotal Chan/Zan text that formalized the shift in thought and practice, away from practices and thinking promoting a gradualist view of awakening to those promoting sudden awakening. The dichotomy between these two paths would go on to characterize much of Zen thinking and practice up through the present day.
July 10, 2012
This is a fascinating book that brings us back to the seventh and eighth centuries in China to Hui-Neng and the Zen concept of No Mind. Wonderful for its spiritual insights and historical scholarship. Highly reccommended.
December 2, 2014
The gentleman who introduced the West to Zen Buddhism. A great intro to the 6th Patriarch. D. T. Suzuki is often overlooked these days (mostly in favor of that other Suzuki,) but D. T.s books quietly wait those who want to understand Zen and are tired of 'just sitting'.
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April 13, 2011From the first not a thing is.
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