
Why do you
so earnestly seek the
truth in distant places?
Look for delusion and truth
in the bottom of your
own hearts.
Ryōkan

Why do you
so earnestly seek the
truth in distant places?
Look for delusion and truth
in the bottom of your
own hearts.
Ryōkan

a brief biography of hakuin ekaku
One part of
“the real aspect of things,”
one part each of “the self and all things”
and “the realization that these are false,” three parts
of “the immediate realization of nirvana”, two parts of
“without desires,” two or three parts of “the non-duality of
activity and quietude,” one and a half parts of sponge-gourd skin
and one part of “the discarding of all delusion”. Steep these
ingredients in the juice of patience for one night, dry in
the shade and then mash. Season with a dash of
prajna-paramita, then shape everything
into a ball the size of a duck’s egg
and set it securely on
your head.

If you return to the Truth,
To the emptiness of delusion,
You’ll know that Buddha and people
Are not different.
Delusion is a butterfly
Plunging into the fire,
Enlightenment, a crane flying
From its cage.

When the level of concentration
on the void is gradually attained, one will feel
that he is free from delusion. Although he keeps himself
pure and rejects the impure, his mind is not yet
completely pure — it is as a sword that
has cut through mud and
remains uncleaned.
…When one reaches jen-wei, or
the level of absolute freedom, he is truly free.
His mind and body are non-attached to anything.
There is absolutely no gain and no loss. This mystery
is the way of non-differentiation. If one tried
to say even one word about it, he
would miss the point.