The small ruby
everyone wants has fallen out
on the road. Some think it is east of us,
others west of us. Some say, “among
the primitive earth rocks,”
others, “in the deep
waters.”
Kabir’s instinct
told him it was inside, and
what it was worth, and he wrapped
it up carefully in his
heart cloth.
Zen has nothing to do with letters, words, or sutras. It only requests you to grasp the point directly and therein to find your peaceful abode. When the mind is disturbed, the understanding is stirred, things are recognized, notions are entertained, ghostly spirits are conjured, and prejudices grow rampant. Zen will then forever be lost in the maze.
The wise Sekiso (Shih-shuang) said, ‘Stop all your hankerings; let the mildew grow on your lips; make yourself like unto a perfect piece of immaculate silk; let your one thought be eternity; let yourself be like the dead ashes, cold and lifeless; again let yourself be like an old censer in a deserted village shrine!’
Put your simple faith in this, discipline yourself accordingly; let your body and mind be turned into an inanimate object of nature like a stone or a piece of wood; when a state of perfect motionlessness and unawareness is obtained all the signs of life will depart and also every trace of limitation will vanish. Not a single idea will disturb your consciousness, when lo! All of a sudden you will come to realize the light abounding in full gladness.
It is like coming across the light in thick darkness; it is like receiving treasure in poverty. The four elements and the five aggregates are no more felt as burdens; so light, so easy, so free you are. Your very existence has been delivered from all limitations; you have become open, light, and transparent.
Great bodhisattvas
arrive at consummate skill in means;
they are always concerned with the welfare of all
sentient beings, they do not reject the realm of common
ignorance, do not seek individual escape, do not cling to their own
happiness. They only strive to edify and liberate others; they are
able to enter and exit meditations and liberations, and have
attained mastery of all concentrations. They come
and go in birth and death as though
roaming through a park,
never getting sick
of it.
They
may live in the palace
of demons or may be celestial beings —
they manifest their bodies in all realms of life.
They may become mendicants in non-buddhist groups,
yet they always avoid false views…They may appear as beautiful
women, intelligent and talented, foremost in the world…Though they
show attainment of true enlightenment moment to moment, still
they do not stop the practice of bodhisattvas. This is their
fourth unique quality, the ultimate consummation
of skill in means without relying
on the teaching of
another.
Center
your attention. Stop
listening with your ears and listen with
your mind. Then stop listening with your mind and
listen with your primal spirit. Hearing is limited to the
ear. Mind is limited to tallying things up. But
the primal spirit is empty: it’s simply
that which awaits
things.
