
Every
little thing is
sent for something,
and in that thing there should be
happiness and the power to make happy.
Like the grasses showing tender faces
to each other, thus we should do,
for this was the wish of the
Grandfathers of the
World.

Every
little thing is
sent for something,
and in that thing there should be
happiness and the power to make happy.
Like the grasses showing tender faces
to each other, thus we should do,
for this was the wish of the
Grandfathers of the
World.
I often see
those who are trying
to study Buddhism just use
their worldly intelligence to sift
among the verbal teachings of the buddhas
and ancestral teachers, trying to pick out especially
wondrous sayings to use as conversation pieces to display
their ability and understanding. This is not the correct view
of the matter. You must abandon your world view and sit
quietly with mind silent. Forget entangling causes
and investigate with your whole being. When
you are thoroughly clear, then whatever
you bring forth from your own
inexhaustible treasure of
priceless jewels is sure
to be genuine and
real.
So first
you must awaken
to the Fundamental and
clearly see the essence where
mind equals buddha. Detach from
all false entanglements and become free
and clean. After that respectfully practice all
forms of good, and arouse great compassion to bring
benefits to all sentient beings. In all that you do, be even and
balanced and attuned to the inherent equality of all things —
be selfless and have no attachments. When wondrous
wisdom manifests itself and you penetrate through
to the basic essence, all your deeds will
be wonder-working. Thus it is said,
“Just manage to accept the
truth — you won’t be
deceived.”
Make
enlightenment your
standard, and don’t feel bad
if it is slow in coming.
Take care!
If in our daily life we
can smile, if we can be peaceful and
happy, not only we, but everyone will profit
from it. This is the most basic kind
of peace work.
A certain
young man was asking
around. “I need to find a wise person.
I have a problem.” A bystander said, “There’s
no one with intelligence in our town except that man
over there playing with the children, the one riding
the stick-horse. He has keen, fiery insight and
vast dignity like the night sky, but he
conceals it in the madness of
child’s play.”
The young
seeker approached the
children. “Dear father, you who
have become as a child,
tell me a secret.”
“Go away.
This is not a day for
secrets.” “But please! Ride your
horse this way, just for a minute.” The sheikh
play-galloped over. “Speak quickly. I can’t hold this one
still for long. Whoops. Don’t let him kick you. This is a wild
one!” The young man felt he couldn’t ask his serious
question in the crazy atmosphere, so he
joked, “I need to get married. Is
there someone suitable on
this street?”
“There are
three kinds of women
in the world. Two are griefs, and
one is a treasure in the world. The first,
when you marry her, is all yours. The second
is half-yours, and the third is not yours at all. Now get
out of here, before this horse kicks you in the head!
Easy now!” The sheikh rode off among the
children. The young man shouted,
“Tell me more about
the kinds of
women!”
The sheikh,
on his cane horsey,
came closer, “The virgin of
your first love is all yours. She will
make you feel happy and free. A childless widow
is the second, she will be half yours. The third, who is
nothing to you, is a married woman with a child. By her first
husband she had a child, and all her love goes into that child.
She will have no connection with you. Now watch out.
Back away. I’m going to turn this rascal around!”
He gave a loud whoop and rode back,
calling the children
around him.
“One
more question, Master!”
The sheikh circled, “What is it? Quickly!
That rider over there needs me. I think I’m
in love.” “What is this playing that
you do? Why do you hide
your intelligence
so?”
“The people
here want to put me
in charge. They want me to be
judge, magistrate, and interpreter of all the texts.
The knowing I have doesn’t want that. It wants to enjoy
itself. I am a plantation of sugarcane, and at the same time
I’m eating the sweetness.” Knowledge that is acquired is not like
this. Those who have it worry if audiences like it or not. It’s a
bait for popularity. Disputational knowing wants customers.
It has no soul. Robust and energetic before a responsive
crowd, it slumps when no one is there. The only
real customer is God. Chew quietly your
sweet sugarcane God-love, and stay
playfully childish. Your face will
turn rosy with illumination
like the red bud
flowers.
Let the lover
be disgraceful, crazy,
absent minded. Someone sober
will worry about things going
badly. Let the lover
be.
All day
and night, music,
a quiet, bright reed song.
If it fades, we
fade.

Just as
the world can reveal itself
as particles, the Tao can reveal itself
as human beings. Though world and particles
aren’t the same, neither are they different.
Though the cosmic body and your
body aren’t the same, neither
are they different.
Worlds and particles,
bodies and beings, time and space:
all are transient expressions of the Tao.
Unseeable, ungraspable, the Tao is beyond
any attempt to analyze or categorize it.
At the same time, its truth is
everywhere you
turn.
If you
can let go of it
with your mind and
surround it with your
heart, it will live
inside you
forever.
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