The speech of the birds
and the voices of the insects are all
the secret of transmitting mind; the brilliance
of the flowers and colors of the grasses
are all writings on seeing
the Way.
To learn, it is necessary
to have your higher potential clarified
thoroughly and your heart clear as crystal.
Then you will find understanding
of mind whatever you
encounter.
There is no distinction
between heaven and earth, man and woman,
teacher and disciple. Sometimes a man bows to a woman;
sometimes a woman bows to a man. Sometimes the disciple bows
to the master; sometimes the master bows to the disciple. A master
who cannot bow to his disciple cannot bow to Buddha.
Sometimes the master and disciple bow together
to Buddha. Sometimes we may bow
to cats and dogs.
In your big mind,
everything has the same value.
Everything is Buddha himself. You see something
or hear a sound, and there you have everything just as it is.
In your practice you should accept everything as it is, giving to
each thing the same respect given to a Buddha. Here there
is Buddhahood. Then Buddha bows to Buddha,
and you bow to yourself. This is
the true bow.
The most
beautiful paintings and
sculptures, the greatest poetry,
have not always been born from torment
or bitterness. Often they have sprung from
contemplation, from joy, from an instinct or wonder
toward all things. To create from joy, to create from wonder,
demands a continual discipline, a great compassion…With time
and sincerity, you will discover a way to work and write that does
not harm you spiritually, that does not tempt you to vanity,
that is the deepest expression of your spirituality. You
will find a voice that is not your voice only, but the
voice of Reality itself. . . If you can be empty
enough, that voice can speak through you.
If you can be humble enough, that
voice can inhabit you
and use you.
Life is a dream,
the years pass by like flowing waters.
Glamour and glory are transient as autumn smoke;
what tragedy — for with the sun set deeply in the
west, still there are those lost among
paths of disillusionment.
Our heart
should be clear as ice.
Forget all the worldly nonsense.
Sit calmly, breathe quietly, heart bright
and spotless as an empty mirror.
This is the path to
the buddha’s
table.
Polish what you polish
until it is like gold that has been refined
a hundred times; anything that is done in a hurry
is not deeply developed. Do what you do like
a thousand pound catapult; one who
pops off too easily does not
much.