The Middle Way Is Buddha
Dharma messages by Ven. SongChol
Korean Chogye Zen Master and Patriarch
Translated by Brian Barry
Buddhism is based on the Middle Way.
The Middle Way is the merging of all
contradictions. In conventional reality, people
speak of the confrontation of good and evil;
but in the Middle Way, there is nor good or
evil, since they melt into one. But what do
you call it when it's neither good nor evil -
neutral? Not exactly, since good and evil have
merged, they have mutually converted. Good
is evil and evel is good. They are mutually
intergrating. Following this principle, form and
formlessness merge and mutually convert. The
same is true for the material and nonmaterial,
for life and death.
Many people think that the Middle Way
means moderation but that is a
misinterpretation of Buddhism. The Middle
Way is transcending the contradiction and
confrontation between production and
destruction, birth and death, so that they
mutually convert into one - production is
destruction and destruction is production, life
is death and death is life.
Once you understand the Middle Way, you
can understand the Buddha's teachings, since
the Middle Way is Buddha.