What a pain, these people with so much wisdom!
Even the Buddhas have trouble converting them.
They keep the sutra pages turning,
But never turn their mind;
Ten thousand volumes cram their bookshelves,
All for nothing!
They’ve sunk into the pit of fame and profit,
Day and night a prey to disquiet and fear.
Their hearts in the end care nothing for sincerity
But moment to moment plot some clever scheme.
~ Gensei (1623-1668)
The peace that comes from
Peaceful surroundings is not true peace
Only in the peace obtained
In the midst of activity
Is found the true sphere
Of one’s original nature
The pleasure that comes from
Pleasant surroundings
Is not true pleasure
Only with the pleasure obtained
In the midst of suffering
Can one see the true movements of the mind
~ Hung Ying-ming
bleak, but logical
dammit spock
It is a characteristic tendency of human beings
to indulge in emotions such as happiness,
grief, or anger in response to present conditions,
failing to balance these feelings
with the awareness that
present conditions are results of past causes.
It is illogical to face the present
only as an object of enjoyment
or tolerance, neglecting to use
it as the opportunity to create the future.
~ Muso Kokushi (1275-1351)
I come humbly to the bamboo grove
Each day hoping to embrace the Way.
Going and coming, there are only mountain birds
In the profound dark, there is no one.
Alone I sit within the dark bamboo
Strumming my lute, whistling along
In the deep grove, no one knows
The bright moon, how we shine together.
~ Wang Wei (700-760)
People cling to their worldly possessions
and selfish passions so blindly
as to sacrifice their own lives for them.
They are like a child who
tries to eat a little honey
smeared on the edge of a knife.
The amount is by no means sufficient
to appease his appetite,
but he runs the risk of wounding his tongue.
Sutra of Forty Two Chapters
Errant thoughts are fundamentally empty;
the essence of mind is fundamentally pure.
You suddenly realize this essence is originally free from afflictions;
the essence of knowledge is inherently complete, no different from Buddha.
To cultivate practice based on this is called the Zen of the highest vehicle,
and it is also called the pure Zen of those who realize suchness.
~ Chinul (1158-1210)
Those who are following the Way
should behave like a piece of timber
which is drifting along a stream.
If the log is neither held by the banks,
nor seized by people,
nor obstructed by gods,
nor kept in the whirlpool,
nor itself goes to decay,
I assure you that this log will finally reach the ocean.
If those who are walking on the Way
are neither tempted by the passions,
nor led astray by some evil influences,
but steadily pursue their course for Nirvana,
I assure you that they will finally attain enlightenment.
Sutra of Forty Two Chapters
Some people, not knowing the essential emptiness of good and evil,
think practical cultivation of mind means to sit rigidly immobile,
subduing mind and body, like a rock placed on top of grass.
This is ludicrous.
That is why it is said that followers cut off confusion in every state of mind,
yet the mind that does the cutting off is a brigand.
~ Chinul (1158-1210)
the mind that does the cutting off is a brigand