If

a person

overlooks the faults

of others, and sees only their merits,

and thus keeps his mind serene, his whole life

will be happy. To be unconcerned in all

things, with the mind cool, free of

desires and without hate,

is beautiful in a

seeker.

Ramana Maharshi

Time is very precious:

every minute, every hour counts.

We don’t want to throw time away. We want

to make good use of the minutes and hours we have left.

When we focus our attention in the here and now and live

simply, we have more time to do the things we think

are important. We don’t waste our energy in

thinking, in worrying, in running

after fame, power,

and wealth.

Thich Nhat Hanh

The essential requirement

in studying zen is concentrated focus.

You don’t engage in any forced actions: you just keep

to the fundamental. Right where you stand, you must pass

through to freedom. You must see the original face and walk through

the scenery of the fundamental ground. You do not change your

ordinary actions, yet outside and inside are One Suchness.

You act according to the natural flow and do not set

up anything as particularly special —

you are no different from

an ordinary person.

This is called

being a wayfarer who is free

and at peace, beyond learning, free

from contrived actions. Being in this stage,

you do not reveal any traces of mind — there

is no road for the gods to offer you flowers,

and no way for demons and outsiders

to spy on you. This at last is

simple unadorned

reality.

Yuanwu

eric schertler

Dream broken,

can’t get back to sleep,

so I sit in my hut in the clear

early dawn. On another mountain the

bell has tolled; on a lone tree the first singing

birds. All of my limbs are tuned and limber, and all

of my states are deeply profound. Before I’ve finished

writing a letter, morning light shoots through the forest

branches. Trusting my nature, there’s nothing outside

I seek. Once quiet, ten thousand entanglements

end; why work for people in the dust,

a hundred years of useless

unrest?

Wen-siang

The

natural laws of

the universe are inviolable:

Energy condenses into substance.

Food is eaten through the mouth and not

the nose. A person who neglects to

breathe will turn blue and die.