Re-reading a book called "The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch". It's not really a sutra, and that as much is acknowledged. Sutras, strictly speaking, are the teachings directly attributed to the Buddha. Not in any orthodox way, it's actually pretty loose. The teachings were often passed down in oral tradition for centuries before being written down, and I have no doubt that the words were pushed and pulled to reflect changes and to emphasize particular viewpoints.
My starting point attitude towards people who quote the Buddha, "The Buddha says...", is "Shut up, I
I think flexibility is a hallmark of modern Buddhism, where the basic teachings of wisdom and liberation are at the core (not as simple as that, as each of those lead to a pantheon of discourses expounding upon them), but the form and interpretation can change according to culture and circumstances to suit the pursuit towards wisdom and liberation.
The Platform Sutra was just a Dharma Talk, same as the ones given today by teachers all over the world. But it might be thought of as the King of Dharma Talks, so expansive and incisive that no one is complaining about the sutra tag. Reading it this time through, I see it as the Zen school equivalent of Shantideva's "Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life" in Tibetan Buddhism. That was a Dharma Talk, too.
As such, it's fascinating seeing how the two works illuminate the same path with different vocabulary, emphasis, and methodology. Further, I think a good test of understanding for practitioners in either school is to read the work of the other tradition. If you really get the teachings of your own school, it should be no problem understanding and accepting the other work. If you don't . . . I dunno, keep at it. I am.
It's not like I get it now. When I first read the Platform Sutra, I thought I got it. But I read it now thinking I get it, but what I get is completely different from what I thought I got before. They're the same words, but when I come across them this time, I've peeled away another layer of meaning and see something different from before. No doubt when I read it again in the future, the same thing will happen.
iTunes soundtrack:
1. June (Camper Van Beethoven)
2. Meladori Magpie (Smashing Pumpkins)
3. Assassing (Marillion)
4. Day to Day Thing (The Neville Brothers)
5. Adult Education (Hall & Oates)
6. Golden Slumbers (The Beatles)
7. Animal (The Kinks)
8. Last Exit (Pearl Jam)
9. Candyman (Siouxsie & the Banshees)
10. My Spine (is the Bass Line) (Shriekback)
