...

The Dharma is devoid of words or appearances,
but it is not separate from words and appearances.

If you abandon words you are subject to distorted views and defilements;
if you grasp at words, you are deluded as to the truth.

~ Uichon (1055-1101)

I forget the days as they pass
The wisteria has grown thick
Over the eaves of my hut
The subtle Way of Bodhidharma
I never give it a thought
Does anyone know the truth of Zen
Or what to ask about it?

~ Muso Soseki (1275-1351)

Cherry blossoms filling the ground,
Sunset filling my eyes:
Blossoms vanished, spring old,
I feel the passing years.
When blossoms were at their finest I neglected to call.
The blossoms did not betray me.
I betrayed the blossoms.

~ Ishikawa Jozan (1583-1672)

A dog barking and the sound of water;
Peach blossoms heavy with dew.
In these deep woods, deer can be seen;
At noon along the stream, I hear no bell.
Wild bamboo divides gray clouds;
Waterfalls hang from blue peaks.
No one knows where you’ve gone;
Disheartened, I lean against a second,
Now a third pine.

~ Li Po


there is no spoon

If you place your body in the realm
Of equanimity and non-contention,
And let your mind roam in the
Territory of evenness and non-disturbance,
And water them every day with
Fair words and fine deeds of sage worthies,
Then you are sure to progress.

~ Wu Yubi (1391-1469)

My theology, briefly, is that the universe was dictated but not signed.

~ Christopher Morley
US author & journalist (1890 - 1957)

If I have any religion, it is perhaps this, that when things go well for me, I tell myself they don’t have to.

Gottfried Keller

The birds have vanished from the sky.
Now the last cloud drains away.
We sit together, the mountain and me,
Until only the mountain remains.

~ Li Po (701–762)



https://www.dailyzen.com/

Whatever you are doing, twenty-four hours a day, in all your various activities, there is something that transcends the Buddhas and Zen masters.

As soon as you want to understand it, it’s not there. As soon as you try to gather your attention on it, you have already turned away from it. That is why I say you see but cannot do anything about it.

~ Foyan (1067–1120)

Body impermanent like spring mist;
Mind insubstantial like empty sky;
Thoughts unestablished like breezes in space.
Think about these three points over and over.

~ Godrakpa (1170-1249)

The moon illuminates a thousand peaks
With the brilliance of daylight,
The sound of the bell falls
On my pillow of old friend’s poems;
In my thin monk’s robes,
Unafraid of the frost’s harshness,
I rise, roll up the thin blinds,
Sit in the depths of the night.

~ Tesshu Tokusai (~1366)

Generally speaking, practical application of Zen requires detachment from thoughts.
This method of Zen saves the most energy.

It just requires you to detach form emotional thoughts,
and understand that there is nothing concrete in the realms of desire, form, and formlessness;
only then can you apply Zen practically.

If you try to practice it otherwise, it will seem bitterly painful by comparison.

~Foyan (1067–1120)