accomplish your ends by yielding

kawai gyokudō

 

A great country is like

a low-lying land into which many

streams flow. It draws powerful energies

to it as a receptive woman draws

an eager man.

 

The feminine can always

conquer the masculine by yielding

and taking the lower position. In this way

she becomes as low-lying land:

in time, everything comes

her way.

 

Therefore a great country

can win over a small country by practicing

humility. A small country can also win over

a great country by practicing

humility.

 

One wins by

willingly taking the lower

position. The other wins by

willingly acknowledging

its lower position.

 

The great country

wants to embrace and nourish

more people.The small country wants

to ably serve its benefactor. Both

accomplish their ends

by yielding.

 

The Tao te Ching of Lao Tzu,

Chapter 61

 

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the point where buddha is actualized

isaac levitan

 

We just sit in the midst

of this contradiction where, although

we aim, we can never perceive hitting the mark.

We just sit in the midst of this contradiction that is

absolutely ridiculous when we think about it with our small mind.

In our zazen, it is precisely at the point where our small, foolish self

remains unsatisfied, or completely bewildered, that immeasurable

natural life beyond the thoughts of that self functions.

It is precisely at the point where we become

completely lost that life operates and

the power of Buddha is

actualized.

 

Kosho Uchiyama

 

this is the pure buddha-land

within purity

 

There is no dharma

that can be explained, no mind that

can be spoken of: inherent reality-nature is empty.

Going back to the fundamental basis is the Path. The real

identity of the Path is empty and boundless, vast and pure.

With its stillness and solitude, it obliterates the cosmos.

It pervades ancient and modern, but its nature

is pure. It is perfect from top to bottom

and everywhere pure. This is the

pure buddha-land.

 

…The Path

of enlightenment

cannot be charted or measured:

highest of the high, vast beyond limit,

deepest of the deep, profound beyond

fathoming, big enough to contain

heaven and earth, small enough

to enter an infinitesimal

point—thus it is called

the Path.

 

Records of the Teachers and Students of the Lanka

full text here

 

there is one clear truth


 

Anyone

can say anything.

Eyes look without obstruction,

And the nose, it sniffs everything.

Legs go where they want to.  Hands reach.

The mind respects nothing.  Even the heart

Is unsure where to stand.  This is how

Things are.  Is something missing?

A human being can walk in different ways,

Deliberately, as though going somewhere,

Or strolling with no purpose, or marching,

Or limping, or pretending to be a gorilla

With arms hanging down.

He or she can curse you or trust you, comfort you,

Or act without considering anything or anyone.

Truth and lies, both glitter in the eyes.

He or she can hear and enjoy and embrace

The language coming in, but to understand everything

With divine wisdom is hard.

There is one clear truth, the pure loving.

When people do not have that, they are

Disconnected.  Words are just words,

And good actions are done for wrong reasons.

Paint on a red dot like the dancing Shiva,

But if you don’t know how to open your heart

With modesty, dignity, and respect for others,

It’s just collecting more honors and robes.

It’s easy to explain the condition of being human,

What’s missing and what’s here, but if

You don’t know God exists,

It’s foolishness.

To know this and act accordingly is difficult.

Saying the words is easy.

                        

Bawa Muhaiyaddeen