no exertion or effort


 

There is no place


for exertion or effort in buddhism;


it is just a matter of 
being normal and non-obsessed,


taking care of bodily functions,
 dressing and eating,
 lying down

when tired.
 Fools laugh at me;
 it is the wise ones
 who

understand this.
 An ancient said,
“Those who

work on externals are all  

ignoramuses.”

 

Lin Chi

 
 

Break open

A cherry tree

And there are no flowers,

But the spring breeze

Brings forth a myriad of blossoms!

 

Ikkyu

wikkyu

 

with each step, a flower blooms

blossoms

 
A lot

of unimportant inner

litter and bits and pieces have

to be swept out first. Even a small head

can be piled high inside with irrelevant distractions.

True, there may be edifying emotions and thoughts, too, but

the clutter is ever present. So let this be the aim of the meditation:

to turn one’s innermost being into a vast empty plain, with none

of that treacherous undergrowth to impede the view. So that

something of “God” can enter you, and something of “Love,”

too. Not the kind of love-de-luxe that you can revel in

deliciously for half an hour, taking pride in

how sublime you feel, but the love

you can apply to small,

everyday things.
 

 

Looked

at Japanese prints

with Glassner this afternoon.

That’s how I want to write. With that much

space round a few words. They should simply emphasize

the silence. Just like that print with the sprig of blossom in the

lower corner. A few delicate brush strokes—but with what attention

to the smallest detail—and all around it space, not empty but inspired.

The few great things that matter in life can be said in a few words.

If I should ever write—but what?—I would like to brush in a

few words against a wordless background. To describe

the silence and the stillness and to inspire them.

What matters is the right relationship between

words and wordlessness, the wordlessness

in which much more happens than

in all the words one can

string together.

 

Etty Hillesum

 

The mind

can go in a thousand

directions, but on this beautiful

path, I walk in peace. With each step,

the wind blows. With each step,

a flower blooms.

 

Thich Nhat Hanh