Hui-neng - No attachment as the foundation of Zen
Good friends, since ancient times, this Dharma teaching of ours, both its direct and indirect versions, has proclaimed ‘no thought’ as its doctrine, ‘no form’ as its body, and ‘no attachment’ as its foundation. What do we mean by a form that is ‘no form’? To be free of form in the presence of forms. And ‘no thought’? Not to think about thoughts. And ‘no attachment,’ which is everyone’s basic nature? Thought after thought, not to become attached. Whether it’s a past thought, a present thought, or a future thought, let one thought follow another without interruption. Once a thought is interrupted, the dharma body becomes separated from the material body. When you go from one thought to another, don’t become attached to any dharma. Once one thought becomes attached, every thought becomes attached, which is what we call ‘bondage.’ But when you go from one thought to another without becoming attached to any dharma, there’s no bondage. This is why ‘no attachment’ is our foundation. Good friends, ‘no form’ means externally to be free of all forms. If you can just be free of forms, the body of your nature is perfectly pure. This is why we take ‘no form as our body.’ To be unaffected by any object is what is meant by ‘no thought,’ to be free of objects in our thoughts and not to give rise to thoughts about dharmas. But don’t think about nothing at all. Once your thoughts stop, you die and are reborn somewhere else. Students of the Way, take heed. Don’t misunderstand the meaning of this teaching. It’s one thing to be mistaken yourself, but quite another to lead others astray then to criticize the teaching of the sutras while remaining unaware that you yourself are lost. Thus, the reason we proclaim ‘no thought’ as our doctrine is because deluded people think in terms of objects, and on the basis of these thoughts they give rise to erroneous views. This is the origin of all afflictions and delusions.
"No thought" and "no attachment" don't mean the absence of everything, but rather the freedom from clinging to it.
When you become attached to a thought you start the cycle of suffering*. Naturally we live according to the true nature, there would also be no precept that could be broken out of this view.
In practical terms, this teaching invites to engage with the world without becoming trapped by it, not rejecting forms and thoughts, but experiencing them without attachment.
If you still have a wordly* (actual big typo here ups) understanding of "letting go of thought" or not attaching, then you won't grasp the way and won't understand the perfection of action contributing to the saviour of sentinent beings. You will engage in anger and be unable to free yourself from it.
This is what in Zen we call, putting a second head onto your own.
The people who lost their minds on the Zen way are countless, sadly...
Be your own master. You don't need to understand the words, just practice according to Hui-neng and you will see where it gets you.