the calm light from the spirit

nothing in particular

 

Do not

do anything (good or bad)

and do not even do this not-doing;

then straightaway one reaches that place where

there is no concern for external affairs, that

vast and peaceful place where there

are absolutely no obstructing

thoughts.

 

There,

all thoughts of the past

are extinguished, all thoughts of

the future do not arise, and

all present thoughts

are void.

 

Nevertheless,

this void-ness is also not

to be maintained. This non-maintenance

(of the void) is also to be forgotten, and this forgetting

is also not to be legitimized; further, free your­self from this

non-legitimizing. At the time when even the idea of

getting free is not preserved, only the alert

yet calm light from the spirit will

appear prominently before

oneself.

 

T’aego Pou

 

remember all is cyclical

 

The fragrance

of blossoms soon passes;

the ripeness of fruit is gone in a

twinkling. Our time in this world is so

short, better to avoid regret: miss

no opportunity to savor

the ineffable.

 

Like a golden

beacon signaling on a moonless

night, tao guides our passage through this

transitory realm. In moments of darkness and pain

remember all is cyclical. Sit quietly behind

your wooden door: spring will

come again.

 

Loy Ching-Yuen

the book of the heart

 

accept three precepts

the paws of the buddha smelled like popcorn

 

Even if

you know how to recite

the texts, you still have to discern reality

from artificiality. Why? Sound and form dim the mind,

falsehoods fool the ears; personality and ego become second

nature, the disease of self-affirmation is deep-seated.

When the mind is separated from the

Way,  the principle is hard to

comprehend.

 

If you wish

to return to the supreme

Way, have deep faith and first accept

three precepts. If you practice in accord with

these three precepts consistently from

beginning to end, then you will

attain the true Way. The

three precepts

are:

 

simplifying involvements 

not craving anything 

quieting the mind

 

…A scripture says,

“If people can empty their minds

and not contrive anything, it is not that

they want the Way, but the Way

spontaneously reverts

to them.”

 

Treatise on Sitting Forgetting