When
we see clearly,
nothing is born, nothing
dies, nothing ever happens.
If you can dwell in emptiness,
breathe emptiness, see
only emptiness, you
will always
be full.
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Wei wu Wei Ching as part of a
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A master’s
handiwork cannot
be measured but still priests wag
their tongues explaining the “Way” and
babbling about “Zen.” This old monk has
never cared for false piety and my
nose wrinkles at the dark smell
of incense before the
Buddha.
Crazy Cloud
speaks of Daito’s unsurpassed
brilliance but the clatter of royal carriages
about the temple gates drowns him out and no
one listens to tales of the Patriarch’s long
years of hunger and homelessness
beneath Gojo
Bridge.
In order to deepen his Zen understanding, Daito Kokushi (also known as Shuho Myocho, 1281-1338), the founder of Daitoku-ji, passed a number of years hiding out amoung the beggars clustered about Kyoto’s Gojo Bridge.
Every day priests
minutely examine the dharma
and endlessly chant complicated sutras.
They should learn to read the love letters
sent by the wind and rain, the
snow and moon.
Heaven
is in everything:
follow the light, hide in the
cloudiness and begin
in what is.
Do you
imagine the universe
is agitated? Go into the desert
at night and look out at the stars.
This practice should answer
the question.
The superior
person settles her mind as
the universe settles the stars in the sky.
By connecting her mind with the subtle origin,
she calms it. Once calmed, it naturally
expands and ultimately her mind
becomes as vast and
immeasurable as
the night
sky.
ebooks & apps of the Tao the Ching, I Ching,
Hua hu Ching, and Art of War for
You
can now buy
Hua hu Ching as part of a
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for iPhone or iPad for less than
the cost of one hardcover
book.
