--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no Bodhi tree, Nor stand of a…" description: "\"There is no Bodhi tree, Nor stand of a mirror bright. Since all is void, Where can the dust alight\" — Huineng" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/huineng-23835_dust_there-is-no-bodhi-tree-nor-stand-of-a-mi_2398107.jpg" --- # There is no Bodhi tree, Nor stand of a mirror bright… ![“There is no Bodhi tree, Nor stand of a mirror bright. Since all is void, Where can the dust alight” quote by Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/huineng-23835_dust_there-is-no-bodhi-tree-nor-stand-of-a-mi_2398107.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/huineng-23835_dust_there-is-no-bodhi-tree-nor-stand-of-a-mi_2398107.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/huineng-23835_dust_there-is-no-bodhi-tree-nor-stand-of-a-mi_2398107.jpg) > “There is no Bodhi tree, Nor stand of a mirror bright. Since all is void, Where can the dust alight” [Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Absence of material forms leads to emptiness, questioning where dust can settle **In simple terms:** Emptiness of physical forms leads to philosophical reflection Key Takeaway Contemplate emptiness and non‑attachment Themes spirituality emptiness philosophy Mood calm contemplative Type spiritual philosophical When to use this quote - meditation - mindfulness - philosophical inquiry Key Concepts Buddhism Zen metaphysics Questions to Reflect On - How does emptiness affect daily life? - What does “dust” symbolize? A Different Perspective May be abstract for practical application ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mirrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirrors/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Void](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/void/) ## Related quotes > [“This (liberation) isn't something I can help you with. I can tell you what you need to do, but you have to do it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/this-liberation-isn-t-something-i-can-help-you-with-i-can-tell-you/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [“Buddha sitting under the Bodhi tree and Jesus wrestling with demons in the desert are symbolic of the same drama of the soul that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/buddha-sitting-under-the-bodhi-tree-and-jesus-wrestling-with-demons/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“In what is now known as Bodh Gaya…a Buddhist temple stands beside an ancient pipal, descended from that bodhi tree, or “enlightenment tree,” and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/in-what-is-now-known-as-bodh-gaya-a-buddhist-temple-stands-beside-an/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [According to accounts of the Buddha's life, it would seem that he had a very deep relationship with nature. 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It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) ## More by Huineng > [To meditate means to realize inwardly the imperturbability of the Essence of Mind. The reason why we are perturbed is because we allow ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huineng/to-meditate-means-to-realize-inwardly-the-imperturbability-of-the/) [Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) > [When our mind works freely without any hindrance, and is at liberty to 'come' or to 'go', we attain Samadhi of Prajna, or liberation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huineng/when-our-mind-works-freely-without-any-hindrance-and-is-at-liberty-to/) [Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) > [The capacity of the mind is broad and huge, like the vast sky. Do not sit with a mind fixed on emptiness. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huineng/the-capacity-of-the-mind-is-broad-and-huge-like-the-vast-sky-do-not/) [Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) > [Confused by thoughts, we experience duality in life. Unencumbered by ideas, the enlightened see the one Reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huineng/confused-by-thoughts-we-experience-duality-in-life-unencumbered-by/) [Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) > [Words are not truth. Truth is like the moon, and words are like my finger. I can point to the moon with my finger,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huineng/words-are-not-truth-truth-is-like-the-moon-and-words-are-like-my/) [Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) > [As one lamp serves to dispel a thousand years of darkness, so one flash of wisdom destroys ten thousand years of ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huineng/as-one-lamp-serves-to-dispel-a-thousand-years-of-darkness-so-one/) [Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) > [A finger points at the moon, but the moon is not at the tip of the finger. Words points at the truth, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huineng/a-finger-points-at-the-moon-but-the-moon-is-not-at-the-tip-of-the/) [Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) > [Truth has nothing to do with words. Truth can be likened to the bright moon in the sky. Words, in this case, can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huineng/truth-has-nothing-to-do-with-words-truth-can-be-likened-to-the-bright/) [Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) > [It is your minds that are moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huineng/it-is-your-minds-that-are-moving/) [Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) > [By amending our mistakes, we get wisdom. By defending our faults, we betray an unsound mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huineng/by-amending-our-mistakes-we-get-wisdom-by-defending-our-faults-we/) [Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) > [Before you think good or evil, who are you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huineng/before-you-think-good-or-evil-who-are-you/) [Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) > [The truth is to be lived, not just mouthed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huineng/the-truth-is-to-be-lived-not-just-mouthed/) [Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) > [The secret is within your self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huineng/the-secret-is-within-your-self/) [Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) > [The complete teachings of all Buddhas - past, present, and future - are to be found within the essence of every human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huineng/the-complete-teachings-of-all-buddhas-past-present-and-future-are-to/) [Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) > [Zazen is seated meditation-the opposite of contemplation-the emptying of the mind of all thoughts in order simply to be. In the midst of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huineng/zazen-is-seated-meditation-the-opposite-of-contemplation-the-emptying/) [Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) [Explore all 25 Huineng quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) ## More Dust quotes > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [“Veiled by the dust of its own passing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-rogers/veiled-by-the-dust-of-its-own-passing/) Cameron Rogers > [She had been dragged in the most humiliating of all dusts, the dust reserved for older women who let themselves be approached, on amorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/she-had-been-dragged-in-the-most-humiliating-of-all-dusts-the-dust/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [We think literature is immortal, but even that decays and ultimately turns to dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-farren/we-think-literature-is-immortal-but-even-that-decays-and-ultimately/) [Mick Farren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-farren/) > [Wild honey smells of freedom The dust - of sunlight The mouth of a young girl, like a violet But gold - smells of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/wild-honey-smells-of-freedom-the-dust-of-sunlight-the-mouth-of-a/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [“People were made of nothing so much as dust, and I couldn't see that doctoring all that dust was a bit better than writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/people-were-made-of-nothing-so-much-as-dust-and-i-couldn-t-see-that/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Mr. Bumpy from Bump in the Night was this funky little guy who lived under the bed and thought eating dust bunnies was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/mr-bumpy-from-bump-in-the-night-was-this-funky-little-guy-who-lived/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [At about 10 o'clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows and in and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/at-about-10-o-clock-in-the-morning-the-sun-threw-a-bright-dust-laden/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [When any civilization is dust and ashes," he said, "art is all that's left over. Images, words, music. Imaginative structures. Meaning—human meaning, that is—is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/when-any-civilization-is-dust-and-ashes-he-said-art-is-all-that-s/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [When a man is not wanted in the village, he is always accused of raising dust even when he falls in a pool of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/when-a-man-is-not-wanted-in-the-village-he-is-always-accused-of/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/gatsby-turned-out-all-right-at-the-end-it-is-what-preyed-on-gatsby/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Passing beauties are only the fugitive reflections of the eternal. All beauty alters and all life melts away; in short, everything passes with marvelous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/passing-beauties-are-only-the-fugitive-reflections-of-the-eternal-all/) [Eliphas Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) > [The trees are white with dust, that o'er their sleep Wave their broad curtains in the south-wind's breath, While underneath such leafy tents they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-trees-are-white-with-dust-that-o-er-their-sleep-wave-their-broad/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) Browse all 1,783 Dust quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no Bodhi tree, Nor stand of a mirror bright. 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