Zen Buddhist Monks

"Should you desire the great tranquility prepare to sweat white beads."

"All beings are by nature are Buddhas, as ice by nature is water. Apart from water there is no ice; apart from beings, no Buddhas. How sad that people ignore the near and search the truth afar: like someone in the midst of water crying out in thirst: like a child of a wealthy home wandering among the poor."

"If you forget yourself, you become the universe."

"Why do you so earnestly seek the truth in distant places? Look for delusion and truth in the bottom of your own hearts."

"I have nothing to report, my friends. If you want to find the meaning, Stop chasing after so many things."

"The water of the valley stream Never shouts at the tainted world: “Purify yourself!” But naturally, as it is, Shows how it is done."

"When you encounter those who are wicked, unrighteous, foolish, dim-witted, deformed, vicious, chronically ill, lonely, unfortunate, or disabled, you should think: “How can I save them?” And even if there is nothing you can do, at least you must not indulge in feelings of arrogance, superiority, derision, scorn, or abhorrence, but should immediately manifest sympathy and compassion. If you fail to do so, you should feel ashamed and deeply reproach yourself: “How far I have strayed from the Way! How can I betray the old sages? I take these words as an admonition to myself.”"

"This world A fading Mountain echo Void and Unreal"

"In the scenery of spring, nothing is better, nothing worse; The flowering branches are of themselves, some short, some long."

"The winds gives me Enough fallen leaves To make a fire"

"It's a pity, a gentleman in refined retirement composing poetry: He models his work on the classic verse of China. And his poems are elegant, full of fine phrases. But if you don't write of things deep in your own heart, What's the use of churning out so many words?"

"Who says my poems are poems? My poems are not poems. When you know that my poems are not poems, Then we can speak of poetry."

"Easily moved by beauty—such is my nature. I take a few phrases and they just turn into poems"

"Cling to truth and it turns into falsehood. Understand falsehood and it turns into truth. Truth and falsehood are two sides of the same coin. Neither accept one nor reject the other."

"Late at night, listening to the winter rain Recalling my youth — Was it only a dream? Was I really young once?"

"The thief left it behind: the moon at my window."

"In this dream world We doze And talk of dreams — Dream, dream on, As much as you wish"

"You must rise above The gloomy clouds Covering the mountaintop Otherwise, how will you Ever see the brightness?"

"The rain has stopped, the clouds have drifted away, and the weather is clear again. If your heart is pure, then all things in your world are pure. Abandon this fleeting world, abandon yourself, Then the moon and flowers will guide you along the Way."

"The village has disappeared in the evening mist And the path is hard to follow. Walking through the pines, I return to my lonely hut."

"As I study both the exoteric and the esoteric schools of Buddhism, they maintain that human beings are endowed with Dharma-nature by birth. If this is the case, why did the Buddhas of all ages — undoubtedly in possession of enlightenment — find it necessary to seek enlightenment and engage in spiritual practice?"

"Furthermore, form and substance are like dew on a blade of grass, and fleeting life is as a flash of lightning, instantly emptied and immediately lost."

"All the Buddhas, whether in this world or in other quarters, in the western heaven (India) or the eastern earth (China), equally held the Buddha-seal and altogether enjoyed the supreme style. They were fully devoted to this total sitting (shikantaza) and were totally installed in this unmoved state. Even though there are a thousand differences and a million nuances, they engaged devotedly in practicing zazen and realizing the Way."

"Therefore, you must stop comprehending the conduct of investigating words and chasing discourses. You must learn to step backward to turn your light around to reflect on yourself. Mind and body will naturally fall away and your original face will manifest itself. If you wish to attain suchness, devote yourself to suchness at once."

"In the great way of going beyond, no endeavor is complete without being one with myriad things. This is ocean mudra samadhi."

"The Buddha said, "Elements come together and form this body. At the time of appearing, elements appear. At the time of disappearing, elements disappear. When elements appear, I do not say "I" appear. When elements disappear, I do not say "I" disappear. Past moments and future moments do not arise in sequence. Past elements and future elements are not in alignment. This is the meaning of ocean mudra samadhi." Closely investigate these words by the Buddha. Attaining the way and entering realization does not necessarily require extensive learning or realization. Anyone can attain the way through a simple verse of four lines. Even scholars of extensive learning can enter realization through a one line verse."

"Buddhas and Ancestors continuously maintain ocean mudra samadhi. While swimming in this samadhi, they expound, realize, practice."

"Students, when you want to say something, think about it three times before you say it. Speak only if your words will benefit yourselves and others. Do not speak if it brings no benefit."

"If he cannot stop the mind that seeks after fame and profit, he will spend his life without finding peace."

"Just study Buddhism. Don't follow the sentiments of the world."

"Students today should begrudge every moment of time. This dewlike life fades away; time speeds swiftly. In this short life of ours, avoid involvement in superfluous things and just study the Way."

"People who truly follow the Way would do well to conceal the fact that they are Buddhists."

"Students of the Way must not study Buddhism for the sake of themselves. They must study Buddhism only for the sake of Buddhism. The key to this is to renounce both body and mind without holding anything back and to offer them to the great sea of Buddhism."

"Because monks come from the midst of purity, they consider as good and pure what does not arouse desire among other people."

"Yet you must not cling to the words of the old sages either; they, too, may not be right. Even if you believe them, you should be alert so that, in the event that something superior comes along, you may follow that."

"Something you want badly enough can always be gained. No matter how fierce the enemy, how remote the beautiful lady, or how carefully guarded the treasure, there is always a means to the goal for the earnest seeker. The unseen help of the guardian gods of heaven and earth assure fulfillment."

"When other sects speak well of Zen, the first thing that they praise is its poverty."

"Just practice good, do good for others, without thinking of making yourself known so that you may gain reward. Really bring benefit to others, gaining nothing for yourself. This is the primary requisite for breaking free of attachments to the Self."

"Zazen is the ultimate practice. This is indeed the True Self. The Buddhadharma is not to be sought outside of this."

"It is only due to a lack of heart for the Way and a lack of skill in handling their daily conduct that people become vainly tied to fame and gain."

"To study the Buddha way is to study oneself. To study oneself is to forget oneself. To forget oneself is to be enlightened by the myriad dharmas. To be enlightened by the myriad dharmas is to bring about the dropping away of body and mind of both oneself and others. The traces of enlightenment come to an end, and this traceless enlightenment is continued endlessly. When a person starts to search out the dharma, he separates himself far from the dharma. When the dharma has already been rightly transmitted in oneself, just then one is one's original self."

"Right and wrong are temporal, but time is neither right nor wrong. Right and wrong are the Dharma, but the Dharma is neither right nor wrong. In the balance of the Dharma, wrong is balanced. In the balance of the Dharma, right is balanced. And so, in learning of complete and utter Awakening, in hearing the Teachings, doing the training, and realizing the effect, this is profound, vast, and wonderful. Some hear of unsurpassed Awakening from good friends, and some hear of it from the sutras. What one hears first is, "Not doing wrong action." If one does not hear “not doing wrong action,” one is not hearing the Buddhas' true Dharma but demonic talk. Know that hearing “not doing wrong action” is hearing the Buddhas' true Dharma."

"The primordial Buddhas are saying,"

"But do not ask me where I am going, As I travel in this limitless world, Where every step I take is my home."

"Coming, going, the waterbirds don't leave a trace don't follow a path."

"So I say, ‘Oh, I am sorry but soon you will see the bright sunrise every morning and beautiful sunset in the evening, every evening, but right now perhaps you…under your situation it may be impossible to see the beautiful sunset or bright sunrise, or beautiful flower in your garden, and it is impossible to take care of your garden, but soon you will see the beauty of the flowers and you will cut some flowers for your room.’ When you start to do this kind of thing you are alright. Don’t worry a bit. It means when you become you, yourself, and when you see things as they are, and when you become at one with your surrounding, in its true sense, there is true self."

"So it is not a matter of whether it is possible to attain Buddhahood, or if it is possible to make a tile a jewel. But just to work, just to live in this world with this understanding is the most important point, and that is our practice. That is true zazen."

"What is true zazen? What do you mean by Zen becomes Zen and you become you? You become you is a very important point. You become you. When you become you, even though you are in bed, you may not be you most of the time. Even though you are sitting here, I wonder whether you are you in its true sense. So to be you is zazen."

"Instead of respecting things, we want to use them for ourselves and if it is difficult to use them, we want to conquer them."

"All descriptions of reality are limited expressions of the world of emptiness. Yet we attach to the descriptions and think they are reality. That is a mistake."