Buddhist Texts

"僧問雲門：「如何是超佛越祖之談？」 門云：「糊餅。」"

"百丈又問雲巖：「並卻咽喉唇吻，作麼生道？」 巖云：「和尚有也未？」 丈云：「喪我兒孫。」"

"百丈復問峰：「並卻咽喉唇吻，作麼生道？」 峰云：「和尚也須並卻。」 丈云：「無人處斫額望汝。」"

"南泉歸宗麻穀，同去禮拜忠國師，至中路，南泉於地上，畫一圓相云：「道得即去。」 歸宗於圓相中坐，麻穀便作女人拜。 泉云：「恁麼則不去也。」 歸宗云：「是什麼心行？」"

"外道問佛：「不問有言，不問無言。」 世尊良久，外道贊嘆云：「世尊大慈悲，開我迷雲，令我得入。」 外道去後，阿難問佛：佛云：「如世良馬，見鞭影而行。」"

"南泉復舉前話，問趙州，州便脫草鞋，於頭上戴出。 南泉云：「子若在，恰救得貓兒。」"

"雲門示眾云：「乾坤之內，宇宙之間，中有一寶，秘在形山。 拈燈籠向佛殿裏，將三門來燈籠上。」"

"南泉一日東西兩堂爭貓兒，南泉見，遂提起云：「道得即不斬。」 眾無對。泉斬貓兒為兩段。"

"風穴垂語云：「若立一塵，家國興盛。不立一塵，家國喪亡。」"

"雲門以拄杖示眾云：「拄杖子化為龍，吞卻乾坤了也。」"

"The sutra distinctly says that we should take refuge in the Buddha within ourselves; it does not suggest that we should take refuge in other Buddhas. Moreover, if we do not take refuge in the Buddha within ourselves, there is no other place for us to retreat."

"身是菩提樹 心如明鏡臺 時時勤拂拭 勿使惹塵埃"

"菩提本無樹 明鏡亦非台 本來無一物 何處惹塵埃"

"Don`t despise a beginner," said I, "if you are a seeker of supreme enlightenment. You should know that the lowest class may have the sharpest wit, while the highest may be in want of intelligence. If you slight others, you commit a very great sin."

"For him who does not know his own mind there is no use learning Buddhism. On the other hand, if he knows his own mind and sees intuitively his own nature, he is a Hero, a 'Teacher of gods and men', 'Buddha'."

"As to the Dharma, this is transmitted from heart to heart, and the recipient must realize it by his own efforts."

"The wisdom of enlightenment is inherent in every one of us. It is because of the delusion under which our mind works that we fail to realize it ourselves, and that we have to seek the advice and the guidance of enlightened ones before we can know our own Essence of Mind."

"You should know that so far as Buddha-nature is concerned, there is no difference between an enlightened man and an ignorant one. What makes the difference is that one realizes it, while the other is ignorant of it."

"Our very nature is Buddha, and apart from this nature there is no other Buddha."

"What the ignorant merely talk about, wise men put into actual practice with their mind."

"A foolish passing thought makes one an ordinary man, while an enlightened second thought makes one a Buddha."

"To illumine our gloomy tabernacle, which is stained by defilement, We should constantly set up the Light of Wisdom. Erroneous views keep us in defilement While right views remove us from it, But when we are in a position to discard both of them We are then absolutely pure."

"Within our impure mind the pure one is to be found."

"He who does not know his own Essence of Mind, and is under the delusion that Buddhahood can be attained by outward religious rites is called the slow-witted."

"A gleam of enlightenment is enough to make any living being the equal of a Buddha."

"To know our mind is to obtain liberation."

"The mind should be framed in such a way that it will be independent of external or internal objects, at liberty to come or go, free from attachment and thoroughly enlightened without the least beclouding."

"All sutras and scriptures of the Mahayana and Hinayana Schools, as well as the twelve sections of the canonical writings, were provided to suit the different needs and temperaments of various people. It is upon the principle that Prajna is latent in every man that the doctrines expounded in these books are established."

"The wise preach to the ignorant when the latter ask them to do so. Through this the ignorant may attain sudden enlightenment, and their mind thereby becomes illuminated. Then they are no longer different from the wise men."

"Our Essence of Mind is intrinsically pure, and if we knew our mind and realized what our nature is, all of us would attain Buddhahood."

"The wisdom of the past, the present and the future Buddhas as well as the teachings of the twelve sections of the Canon are immanent in our mind; but in case we fail to enlighten ourselves, we have to seek the guidance of the pious and learned ones. On the other hand, those who enlighten themselves need no extraneous help. It is wrong to insist upon the idea that without the advice of the pious and learned we cannot obtain liberation."

"To obtain liberation is to attain Samadhi of Prajna, which is "thoughtlessness." What is "thoughtlessness"? "Thoughtlessness" is to see and to know all Dharmas (things) with a mind free from attachment. When in use it pervades everywhere, and yet it sticks nowhere. What we have to do is to purify our mind so that the six vijnanas (aspects of consciousness), in passing through the six gates (sense organs) will neither be defiled by nor attached to the six sense-objects. When our mind works freely without any hindrance, and is at liberty to "come" or to "go", we attain Samadhi of Prajna, or liberation. Such a state is called the function of "thoughtlessness". But to refrain from thinking of anything, so that all thoughts are suppressed, is to be Dharma-ridden, and this is an erroneous view."

"If we find fault with others We ourselves are also in the wrong. When other people are in the wrong, we should ignore it, For it is wrong for us to find fault. By getting rid of the habit of fault-finding We cut off a source of defilement."

"The Kingdom of Buddha is in this world, Within which enlightenment is to be sought. To seek enlightenment by separating from this world Is as absurd as to search for a rabbit's horn."

"Kalpa after kalpa a man may be under delusion, But once enlightened it takes him only a moment to attain Buddhahood."

"When the people of the East commit a sin, they recite the name of Amitabha and pray to be born in the West; but in the case of sinners who are natives of the West, where should they pray to be born? Ordinary men and ignorant people understand neither the Essence of Mind nor the Pure Land within themselves, so they wish to be born in the East or the West. But to the enlightened everywhere is the same. As the Buddha said, "No matter where they happen to be, they are always happy and comfortable.""

"We should work for Buddhahood within the Essence of Mind, and we should not look for it apart from ourselves. He who is kept in ignorance of his Essence of Mind is an ordinary being. He who is enlightened in his Essence of Mind is a Buddha."

"By amending our mistakes, we get wisdom. By defending our faults, we betray an unsound mind."

"Argument is unnecessary for an enlightened disciple. ... Argument implies a desire to win, strengthens egotism, and ties us to the belief in the idea of a self."

"All things - good or bad, beautiful or ugly - should be treated as void. Even in time of disputes and quarrels we should treat our intimates and our enemies alike and never think of retaliation. In the exercise of our thinking faculty, let the past be dead. If we allow our thoughts, past, present, and future, to link up in a series, we put ourselves under restraint. On the other hand, if we never let our mind attach to anything, we shall gain emancipation."

"Our mind should stand aloof from circumstances, and on no account should we allow them to influence the function of our mind. But it is a great mistake to suppress our mind from all thinking."

"If we are attached to outer objects, our inner mind will be perturbed. When we are free from attachment to all outer objects, the mind will be in peace. Our Essence of Mind is intrinsically pure, and the reason why we are perturbed is because we allow ourselves to be carried away by the circumstances we are in.He who is able to keep his mind unperturbed, irrespective of circumstances, has attained Samadhi."

"When our mind clings to neither good nor evil we should take care not to let it dwell upon vacuity, or remain in a state of inertia. Rather should we enlarge our study and broaden our knowledge, so that we can know our own mind, understand thoroughly the principles of Buddhism, be congenial to others in our dealings with them, get rid of the idea of "self" and that of "being", and realize that up to the time when we attain Bodhi the "true nature" (or Essence of Mind) is always immutable."

"May we ... be always free from the taints of ignorance and delusion. We repent of all our sins and evil deeds committed under delusion or in ignorance. May they be expiated at once and may they never arise again."

"On account of ignorance and delusion, common people do not realize that in repentance they have not only to feel sorry for their past sins but also to refrain from sinning in the future. Since they take no heed of their future conduct they commit new sins before the past are expiated. How can we call this "repentance"?"

"To attain enlightenment by our own efforts and to practice by ourself the goodness inherent in our Essence of Mind is a genuine case of "Taking Refuge"."

"Why not get rid of the sin within our own mind, for this is true repentance."

"Buddha-knowledge is the Buddha-knowledge of your own mind and not that of any other Buddha."

"Being infatuated by sense-objects, and thereby shutting themselves from their own light, all sentient beings, tormented by outer circumstances and inner vexations, act voluntarily as slaves to their own desires. Seeing this, our Lord Buddha had to rise from his Samadhi in order to exhort them with earnest preaching of various kinds to suppress their desires and to refrain from seeking happiness from without, so that they might become the equals of Buddha."

"To see, to hear, and to recite the sutra is the small vehicle. To know the Dharma and to understand its meaning is the middle vehicle. To put the Dharma into actual practice is the great vehicle. To understand thoroughly all Dharmas, to have absorbed them completely, to be free from all attachments, to be above phenomena, and to be in possession of nothing, is the Supreme Vehicle."