chinese-literature

"Although the expression “citizen diplomacy” was coined in the late 20th century, in fact some 2,200 years before the word existed Guiguzi had already established the fundamental principle that diplomacy and promoting peace between the states [and between other kinds of parties] is not a profession, but a skill acquired through self-cultivation."

"路曼曼其修远兮，吾将上下而求索。"

"国无人莫我知兮，又何怀乎故都？ 既莫足与为美政兮，吾将从彭咸之所居。"

"长太息以掩涕兮，哀民生之多艰。 余虽好修姱以鞿羁兮，謇朝谇而夕替。 既替余以蕙纕兮，又申之㠯揽茝。 亦余心之所善兮，虽九死其犹未悔。"

"世溷浊而不分兮，好蔽美而嫉妒。"

"Date: October 1922"

"Quote: Chinese:《無雙譜》兼具書、畫、詩三絕。"

"English: The "Wu Shuang Pu" is a collection of three masterpieces: calligraphy, painting, and poetry."

"English: The creation of the Wushuang spectrum is unparalleled."

"English: Wu Shuang Pu: Composed and painted by Jin Guliang in the Qing Dynasty, with forty portraits of unique characters from Han to Song, with a poem for each. Borrowed in this book (Rabbit and Cat) to describe uniqueness."

"Date: 1699"

"Quote: Chinese: 创作无双谱，此意自无双。"

"Quote: Chinese:《無雙譜》：清代金古良編繪，內收從漢到宋四十個行為獨特人物的畫像，并各附一詩。這里借用來形容獨一無二。"

"Date: April 29, 1901"

"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."

"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."

"It is for a sole object, a sole aim, verily a lofty object and a lofty aim that the Buddha appears in this world. Now that sole object, that sole aim, that lofty object, that lofty aim referred to is the "sight" of Buddha-Knowledge."

"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."

"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."

"To realize that nothing can be seen but to retain the concept of "invisibility" is like the surface of the sun obscured by passing clouds. To realize that nothing is knowable but to retain the concept of "unknowability" may be likened to a clear sky disfigured by a lightning flash. To let these arbitrary concepts rise spontaneously in your mind indicates that you have misidentified the Essence of Mind [cittasya dharmata], and that you have not yet found the skilful means to realize it. If you realize for one moment that these arbitrary concepts are wrong, your own spiritual light will shine forth permanently."

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

"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 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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

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

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

"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."

"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."

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

"Knowing Buddha means nothing else than knowing sentient beings, for the latter ignore that they are potential Buddhas, whereas a Buddha sees no difference between himself and other beings. When sentient beings realize the Essence of Mind, they are Buddhas. If a Buddha is under delusion in his Essence of Mind, he is then an ordinary being. When your mind is crooked or depraved, you are ordinary beings with Buddha-nature latent in you. On the other hand, when you direct your mind to purity and straightforwardness even for one moment, you are a Buddha. Within our mind there is a Buddha, and that Buddha within is the real Buddha. If Buddha is not to be sought within our mind, where shall we find the real Buddha? Doubt not that Buddha is within your mind, apart from which nothing can exist. Since all things or phenomena are the production of our mind, the Sutra says, "When mental activity begins, things come into being; when mental activity ceases, they too cease to exist.""

"The Sutra tells you plainly that there is only the Buddha Vehicle, and that there are no other vehicles, such as the second or the third. It is for the sake of this sole vehicle that Buddha had to preach to us with innumerable skilful devices, using various reasons and arguments, parables and illustrations, etc. ... You should appreciate that you are the sole owner of these valuables and they are entirely subject to your disposal. When you are free from the arbitrary conception that they are the father's, or the son's, or that they are at so and so's disposal, you may be said to have learned the right way to recite the Sutra."

"It was to ordinary men, not to other Buddhas, that Buddha Gautama preached this Sutra."

"菩提本無樹 明鏡亦非台 本來無一物 何處惹塵埃"

"身是菩提樹 心如明鏡臺 時時勤拂拭 勿使惹塵埃"

"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'."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"To start by seeking for Trikaya and the four Prajnas is to take an entirely wrong course (for being inherent in us they are to be realized and not to be sought). To try to "grasp" or "confine" them is to go against their intrinsic nature."