Huineng’s Platform Sutra turns traditional Buddhist formality on its head by insisting that true insight isn’t locked behind incense, chants or elaborate ceremonies. Rather than bowing repeatedly before statues or memorizing sutras line by line, it urges practitioners to “look directly into one’s own mind” and recognize inherent Buddha-nature in the flash of an eye. This sudden-enlightenment approach cuts through the noise of ritualistic repetition and places emphasis on simple, direct awareness.

Ordination and monastic robes lose their monopoly on spiritual authority here. Laypeople, farmers and even illiterate laborers are portrayed as already possessing the awakened mind—no special lineage charts or lengthy training periods required. In a sense, it democratizes awakening, much like how today’s mindfulness apps aim to make meditative practice accessible beyond cloistered prayer halls.

Words and letters, according to the Sutra, can become stumbling blocks rather than stepping stones. Chanting texts is fine, but attaching faith to the syllables alone misses the point. This flies in the face of conventional schools that prized extensive scriptural study as the highest path. Instead, Huineng champions direct pointing to the heart–mind. If one truly “gets it,” ceremonial accoutrements become secondary.

Even devotional practices—prostrations, relic veneration, ritual offerings—are treated with a fair amount of skepticism. Performing ceremonies mechanically is likened to polishing a golden bowl without ever tasting the rice inside. Inner realization, not outer form, carries the real weight.

In today’s world, when digital retreats and Instagram-friendly altar setups are all the rage, the Platform Sutra’s message still resonates: spirituality isn’t measured by the prettiest shrine or the most Instagrammable meditation cushion. Rather, it’s found in the raw moment-to-moment awareness coursing through everyday life. Liberation blooms from the simplest recognition of mind’s luminous nature—no special robes or ritual toolkit required.