You who lack
self-discipline, be inquiring!
Going straight to the root is the hallmark
of the buddha; picking up leaves and collecting branches
is no use at all. Most people don’t know the pearl
that answers all wishes.
Posts Tagged → books
stand shoulder to shoulder and go on
If you make slogans
based on words and sprout interpretations
based on objects, then you fall into the bag of antique curios,
and you will never be able to find this true realm
of absolute awareness beyond
sentiments.
At this stage you are free
to go forward in the wild field without choosing,
picking up whatever comes to hand: the meaning of the ancestral
teachers is clear in all that grows there. What’s more, the thickets of green
bamboo and the masses of yellow flowers and the fences and walls
and tiles and pebbles are inanimate things
teaching the dharma.
The water birds and the
groves of trees expound the truths of suffering,
emptiness, and selflessness. Based on the one true reality,
they extend objectless compassion, and from the great
jewel light of nirvana they reveal uncontrived,
surpassingly wondrous powers.
Changqing said,
“When you meet a companion
on the Path, stand shoulder to shoulder and
go on: then your lifetime of learning
will be completed.”
no big shot buddhas in nature
The wise heathen
have no knowledge; they just
keep their mind continually set on the Way.
There are no big shot Buddhas in nature,
and ten thousand sutras are distilled
in a single song.
being still, there is no seeking
Repeatedly
undergoing birth and death
is just due to grasping at objects.
When we reflect back on the mind that
grasps at objects, we see that the real identity
of mind is originally pure. Within this purity, grasping
mind does not exist. Within nirvana, fundamentally
there are no thoughts moving; the movement
is ever still. Being still, there is
no seeking.
Records of the Teachers and Students of the Lanka
surrender the matter to the sage
There is an obstacle
to the expression of truth.
allows the Sage to
moderate.
Unity has been broken by one who is not being true to proper principles. This may be another, or an element in one’s own personality, or both. In any case, serious misfortune may result if the appropriate response is not made. The I Ching is very clear about what our proper action is when confronted with an obstacle of this nature: withdrawal into contemplation and a turning over of the matter to the Higher Power for resolution.
This is a time when aggressive action or intervention can only compound the misfortune. Use your strength to clearly separate yourself from incorrectness and realign yourself with the Sage. It is always our responsibility to acknowledge where something has gone wrong, but never our right to punish. The administration of justice is the sole province of the Deity.
The I Ching teaches us to forgive but not to forget. This does not mean one who reveals himself as inferior today should be regarded as such tomorrow. It means that we are wise to pay conscientious attention to the waxing and waning of truth in oneself and others. When truth predominates, we can progress. When it is eclipsed, we are obligated to withdraw and surrender the matter to the Sage.
The I Ching, or Book of Changes
Hexagram 21, Shih Ho / Biting Through
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