zen-buddhist-monks

"這箇是阿誰，不曾知名，非可為身，非可為心。"

"叢林之中，善知識處，深山幽谷，可依止之。綠水青山，是經行之處。谿邊樹下，是澄心之處也。觀無常不可忘，是勵探道心也。"

"坐禪觀舉體無二，抛下萬事，休息諸緣，佛法世法不管，道情世情雙忘，無是非無善惡，何防止之有乎，此是心地無相戒也。"

"不得好說法教化，散心亂念從是而起。"

"打坐工夫，或向胞胎未生，不起一念已前行履工夫，二空忽生，散心必歇。"

"夫坐禪者，直令人開明心地，安住本分，是名露本來面目，亦名現本地風光。"

"直須休去歇去，冷湫湫地去，"

"Everyone should put the elders first in accordance with the customs to treat elders with respect."

"The family, the state, the entire world: they are all aggregations of individuals, and if each individual simply lived and acted according to pure-hearted kindness – that is, with a spirit of independence and freedom, the will to help the weak, and caring for one’s neighbor – we would all be able to live a peaceful and perfect collective life. We human beings should develop our spirit of independence and solidarity and fight against those who oppose this, even at the risk of our own lives."

"If we look at the traces left by our ancestors, and if we observe the spirit carried by the blood coursing through our arteries, there we hear the incessant sound “freedom, freedom.” Yes, our ancestors, consciously or unconsciously, have been struggling for this freedom, and since we share the very same spirit, we too must keep on fighting until victory, no matter ow strong nature’s hardships and how cruel the ruler’s despotism. What is the freedom we will achieve after this struggle? To put it simply, it is being able to always act according to one’s will, without ever being obstructed or bothered by anyone. That is, it means to always respect one’s own will while at the same time respecting the will of the others, and to live in peace."

"Old habits in particular will not make it easy to realize our ideas, but nonetheless, we should make up our minds and strive to achieve them."

"The final goal of the human race is independence and mutual aid, the realization of freedom, equality, and fraternity. If we look at the evolution of politics, law, religion, and ethics, they have been developing from heteronomy toward autonomy; thus after attaining self-governance the people will use their eventual individual surpluses to compensate for other’s inefficiencies. This is natural evolution, and this is also the ultimate ideal of life. Everyone should fight and strive toward this goal."

"Women are not men’s belongings."

"One should improve upon the habit of giving to others what one desires for oneself."

"Consciousness means to become aware of something by oneself. This, in turn, does not mean to discover something that others do not know, nor does it mean that one should not learn from others. To become aware of something by oneself refers to things, no matter whether learned from others or discovered by oneself, that one digests deeply in one’s mind and makes one’s own. Moreover, if we distinguish consciousness in terms of social class, we come up with several differences. The consciousness of a priest is not the same as that of a politician. The consciousness of a priest is also probably different from that of a philosopher. In fact, even priests, depending on their geographic location and historical period, cannot be said to all be the same. Thus, there are myriad differences in consciousness, depending on the person, time, and place; however, there must be something that is common to them all. There must be something that is at stake for all of them, as they all live in this world. The learned and the uneducated, the noble and the lowly, the rich and the poor – there is something they must become conscious of through cooperation. This is what I call “common consciousness”."

"There is nothing more dangerous than to pass judgment on the basis of fragmentary proof."

"A superstition is a wrong idea that one holds precious like a sacred thing."

"We are not made to live subjected to authoritarian rule but instead need to be independent and free to act as we choose. This is what we call the individual’s common consciousness. No matter how well the government develops, no matter how kindly public officials lead us, they will never be able to satisfy our ideal. The more complicated the government becomes, the more corrupt it gets."

"Even though you are like travelers at dusk at the foot of a mountain, you should not be discouraged, because you will certainly advance step by step toward the top of that mountain called consciousness. Isn’t it so? Anyone who looks attentively at human history will understand that all people, the wise and the fool, and also the poor, are heading toward the shore of freedom, each in their own way."

"Truth will eventually triumph one day, the light of freedom will doubtlessly and without fail illuminate the whole family and bestow its blessings upon all."

"Folks, try to think. Of what you produce with your sweat all year long, half is taken by a thief called the landlord; with the half that’s left, you buy sake, soy sauce, salt and manure. But on the sake, on that manure, on everything, nothing excluded, there are taxes — money that is taken by that big thief called the government. on top of that, other thieves called merchants make their own profit. That’s why folks like you , who don’t own your land, will never be able to avoid poverty throughout your life, no matter how hard and earnestly you work."

"Nothing can be realized without sacrifice."

"Renunciation is not getting rid of the things of this world, but accepting that they pass away."

"When the Japanese Zen priest Mugaku Sogen (1226-1286) was in China and threatened by invading Mongol troops, he composed a fourline poem. Years later another Zen priest, Sesson Yūbai (1290-1347), when he was in prison and threatened with death, took Mugaku's poem and, using each line as the opening verse of a new poem,"

"I do not like praises and honours Nor did I fear disdain I just stayed away. My mind, clear water, My body bound and tied For three years in Chang'an. I sing what I feel in songs In straight words, undecorated."

"Hogo acquired importance as a calligraphic art expressing the personality and the cultural attainments of the zen priest writer... Typical of such is the hogo written by Mugaku Sogen (1226-1286) and presented to Ichio Ingo, ( -1281)."

"Cutting the Spring Breeze Throughout heaven and earth there is not a piece of ground where a single stick could be inserted; I am glad that all things are void, myself and the world: Honored be the sword, three feet long, wielded by the great Yüan swordsmen; For it is like cutting a spring breeze in a flash of lightning."

"When the Japanese Zen priest Mugaku Sogen (1226-1286) was in China and threatened by invading Mongol troops, he composed a fourline poem. Years later another Zen priest, Sesson Yūbai (1290-1347), when he was in prison and threatened with death, took Mugaku's poem and, using each line as the opening verse of a new poem,"

"The Japanese Zen master Kozan Ichikyo wrote the [above dead] poem in the year 1360 before he laid down his calligraphy brush and left the world while sitting upright... We not only come into this world and leave this world alone, we also cannot take anything along with us into the other world — in case there is one. If there is no permanence, it is also nonsense to tie our boat to our possessions and dreams. Consequently, it is also senseless to cling to certain philosophies, thoughts, feelings, and values, which we take along to the grave when all is said and done. But instead of taking them to the grave with us, it is possible to already learn to let go of them during our lifetime. 1 think that this is a task in life!"

"On a winter morning in 1360, Zen master Kozan Ichikyo (sic) gathered together his pupils. Kozan, 77, told them that, upon his death, they should bury his body, perform no ceremony and hold no services in his memory. Sitting in the traditional Zen posture, he then wrote [his dead poem]... After he finished, Kozan gently put down his brush, and then died. He was still sitting upright."

"Although [Tetsugen] was already married, he was dissatisfied that in the [True Pure Land] sect, people without talent or merit held high rank in the temple hierarchy. Therefore, he went up to Mount Ōbaku and followed [the instruction] of Muan."

"Shunpo Soki was a Zen priest of the Rinzai sect. A disciple of the Daitokuji priest Yoso Soi (1376-1458), Shunpo became the fortieth abbot of Daitokuji and was famous for his efforts in reconstructing the temple in the aftermath of the devastation of the (1467-77)."

"Life is an ever-rolling wheel And every day is the right one. He who recites poems at his death Adds frost to snow."

"Those who practice without keeping the precepts set out by the Buddha all represent the False Dharma. The reason for this [is as follows:] Although practices such as chanting the nembutsu, seated meditation, and reciting the sutras are each practiced differently depending on the abilities of the believer, the precepts against taking life, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and the like are absolute, regardless of the sect. Not to keep them is unacceptable. Therefore these precepts are called “absolutes.”"

"I look now at the very moment Even the Buddha is dumbfounded. All turns with a swing. I land on the plain of nothingness."

"In a key discussion of the black of the pupil of the eye, in which he cites Plato's Alcibiades, Al-Ghazzali, Meister Eckhart and the Zen priest Taigen Sofu, Viola argues for the pupil as the first and ideal mirror, one in which not only a reflection of the self may be found, but also the act of ‘seeing seeing’, and in the blackness of the pupil, the void upon which perception, in mystical systems of belief, is founded."

"I raise the mirror of my life Up to my face: sixty years. With a swing I smash the reflection - The world as usual All in its place."

"TAIGEN Sofu (or Sufu) Sessai was a priest and a minister of IMAGAWA Yoshimoto. He was born as a son of IHARA Masamori, senior vassal of the Imagawas and is thought to be related to YAMAMOTO Kansuke, strategist of TAKEDA Harunobu (Shingen). He is one of the ministers in clerical robe in Japanese history."

"Zen Master Seigan Soi (1588-1661) was born in Omi province. He was also known as Jisho, Koro, and Bodo, and was the Dharma-heir of (1556-1621, 159th abbot of Daitokuji)."

"Seigan Sōi was the 170th abbot of Daitokuji in Kyoto. Also known as Jishōshi or Korō, he founded Zen temples throughout Japan and was invited by the shogun (1604–1651) to assume the abbacy of Tōkaiji in Shinagawa, Edo (Tokyo) in 1649, after the death of the eminent monk (1573–1645)."

"Full of great changes My three and fifty years have been. I commented on the holy writ - a heavy sin That echoes to the skies. Now I will sail on the lake of lotus blooms And break into the skies within the water."

"The truth is never taken From another. One carries it always By oneself. Katsu!"

"Tsugen Jakurei (1322-1391), whose teaching was most widely inherited in the Soto sect, is famous for his 'pit of burying-alive'. When an itinerant priest came to him in order to receive training, it was said, he tested the newcomer and if he perceived in the latter any impurity of motivation, he then simply threw him down into the pit."

"As far as is known, the oldest work Muso signed with his pseudonym Bokutotsuso is dated 1334... Muso used this signature until the end of his life, and subtler characteristics or combinations of various factors can serve as clues."

"My coming today is coming from no where. One year hence, my departing will be departing to no where."

"’s (b. 1935) Triangle, Circle, Square quotes from Sengai’s famous 18th-century Buddhist painting. His early work of the 1960s, including music, performance, and writing as well as sculptural and conceptual works, was impacted by his exposure to Zen-informed thinking. De Maria developed an interest in task-oriented, game-like projects that resulted in viewer-interactive sculptures."

"Joy of living, / Living joy... Zen doctrine is null. Before I die, Here is the secret of my teaching - My staff nods in agreement. Katsu!"

"In 1265, Jomyo achieved enlightenment and was recognized as an heir by Kido. Kido was so impressed by the young Japanese’s attainment that when the time came for him to return to his home country, Kido wrote this valedictory poem predicting the success he would find in Japan:"

"Life is like a cloud of mist Emerging from a mountain cave, And death A floating moon In its celestial course. If you think too much About the meaning they may have, You'll be bound forever Like an ass to a stake."

"This year, the twenty-ninth of the twelfth No longer has a place to come to. The twenty-ninth of the twelfth next year Already has no place to go."