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Break open a single particle
And all the sutras grow clear:
The great merit-wheel
Of the dharma turns as a whole.
The womb of a donkey gives
Birth to the noble horse.
Each time you look, you’ll see it new.

- Dogen 1226

One stroke dissolves knowledge.
Struggle no longer needed.
I will follow the ancient path
Not lapsing into quietude.
Noble conduct beyond sound and form –
No trace anywhere.
Those who have mastered the way
Call this the unsurpassable activity.

- Xiangyan

This emptiness
Is not empty emptiness
This Path is not a path
That can be considered a path
Where peaceful extinction is totally extinct
Perfect illumination is complete and final.

- T’aego

After realizing the intent of Zen, people in ancient times used to spend decades polishing themselves thoroughly in order to free themselves from compulsions of conditioning and habit.
This is called the work of maturation; the completion of maturation is called the attainment of unification.

- Muso Kokushi (1275-1351)

Q: The moment we are going to begin practice, how should we contemplate?
Tao-shin replies: We must identify with the natural rhythm of things.

- Tao-shin (580-651)

I stuff the heater with wood,
And put on all my clothes
But only drinking a cup of wine
Makes me really warm.
People say the cold
Is unbearable after frost,
But they don’t realize
That there’s springtime
In the wine pot.

- Yang Wan-li (1127-1206)

Woodcutters and fishermen
Know just how to use things.
What would they do with fancy chairs
And meditation platforms?

In straw sandals and with a bamboo staff,
I roam three thousand worlds,
Dwelling by the water,
Feasting on the wind,
Year after year.

- Ikkyu (1394-1481)

It cannot be named,
And it cannot be given form.
From the beginning,
It is pure and clean
And has not been defiled.
From the beginning,
It is by itself complete and perfect,
And there is no need to trouble
About practice and enlightenment.

- Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091-1157)

Every morning I sail out
To pick lotus flowers.
The river is long
So I often return at dusk.
I don't splash as I pole my boat,
Afraid of wetting the flowers’ red blouses.

- Wang Wei (699-759)

Darkness and light divide the tall sky,
The rumble of thunder
Passes over distant mountains.
The evening is cool,
And beyond the slackening rain,
Through broken clouds,
A moon immaculate.

- Ishikawa Jozan (1583-1672)

Submit to love without thinking,
as the sun rose this morning
recklessly extinguishing
our star-candle minds.

~ Rumi

When you are everywhere,
you are nowhere.
When you are somewhere,
you are everywhere.

Rumi

Heaven turns so slowly and gently,
It tolerates my age.
Without mercy,
Days and months advance to cut off my time.
I return to my cave in the mountain,
But the trees are all gone.
I look down on the river,
And all I see are meandering curves.
The sun is captured in a cage of delicate clouds.
I listen to the wind.
Suddenly I hear the Temple Bell!
The sound comes washing over me,
Waking me from the dusty labor of my thoughts.
And distant heaven opens wider and wider to me.

- Hsu Yun

desire for a thing
is what causes the pain
it is not her presence
or absence
words
or silence
activities
or the dearth of
it is only desire
disguised as love
that is what causes the pain

To My Reflection

I sit alone by a pond,
See a monk at the bottom.
Silently, we smile at one another
I know his voice will not respond.

- Chin'gak Kuksa Hyesim (1178-1234)