In the Tang dialect, this is called 'spirit.'

The weight of words.

If one’s mouth is merely "drumming" A metaphor for empty or superficial talk. and remains entangled in the "vines" original: "葛藤"; a famous Zen term for intellectual complications and verbal explanations that hinder direct realization. of language, unable to cast them aside or see beyond the literal text, how could they even begin to discuss this collection? Nevertheless, for those in the initial stages of practice or those following the Two Vehicles The 'Two Vehicles' refers to the paths of the Shravaka and Pratyekabuddha, which in Zen rhetoric are often seen as limited compared to the Great Vehicle (Mahayana). who still carry the habits of conceptual learning, I hope that perhaps a single word or phrase from these records might "strike them" or "bump into them," triggering a sudden awakening. In that moment, they shall walk hand-in-hand with the ancestral masters of all generations and the venerable masters throughout the world, ensuring that this collection spreads its influence without end.

Compendium of the Five Lamps, Volume One

Five Sources Refers to the five "Lamps" or historical records that were condensed to create this compendium.

The Seven Buddhas of Antiquity

In Zen tradition, the lineage does not begin with the historical Buddha, but with a succession of primordial Buddhas reaching back into the deep past.

The Ancestral Masters of India

Also known as the "Western Patriarchs," representing the direct transmission of the "Buddha-mind" from India to China.

Compendium of the Five Lamps