In the world,
something is most highly
honored, and it is not power and position;
something is most highly valued, and it is not gold
and jade; something has the most longevity,
and it is not a lifetime of a
thousand years.
To return your heart to its
original nature is most
highly honored.
translated by John S. Major & Sarah A. Queen
Each of you has a
priceless jewel in your own body.
It radiates light through your eyes, shining
through the mountains, river, and earth. It radiates light
through your ears, taking in all sounds, good and bad.
It radiates light through your six senses day
and night. This is also called
absorption in light.
You yourself do not
recognize it, but it is in your
physical body, supporting it inside
and out, not letting it tip over. Even if you
are carrying a double load of rocks
over a single-log bridge,
it still doesn’t let
you fall over.
What is it?
If you seek in the slightest,
it cannot be seen.
Students,
sit earnestly in zazen,
and you will realize that everything
born in this world is ultimately empty,
including oneself and the original face of existence.
All things indeed emerge out of emptiness. This original
formlessness is “Buddha,” and all other similar terms — Buddha-
nature, Buddhahood, Buddha-mind, Awakened One, Patriarch,
God — are merely different expressions for the same
emptiness. Misunderstand this and you
will end up distracted
for eons.
In order to
be a proper teacher to
oneself, one must be part midwife,
part executioner: sometimes rebirthing oneself,
sometimes annihilating and leaving useless bits by the
wayside, until the self soars free and clear of
attachment, obstruction, and delusion
and joins all buddhas past,
present, and
future.
Then one
can stop fracturing
reality with names and ideas
of self, other, buddha,
enlightenment,
and so on.
There,
beyond definitions
and beyond mind, reality
flows like pure
water.
You
can now buy
Wei wu Wei Ching as part of a
five-app bundle of Taoist classics
for iPhone or iPad for less than
the cost of one hardcover
book.
To wait with
a proper attitude invites
the assistance of the
Higher Power.
There is
a situation at hand that
cannot be corrected by force or
external effort. The Creative will provide
the solution to one who waits with a correct
attitude. This is a time for patience
and careful attention to
inner truth.
Do not
give in to doubt and
agitation now. You are not meant
to wait in a state of desperate longing but
in one of patient inner strength. Without certainty
in the power of the truth, success is impossible.
Attempts to force a change, rather than
allowing it to mature naturally,
will only cause
misfortune.
You would be
wise to strengthen and reaffirm
your reliance on the Creative. When you indulge in
fear and doubt, you flood the arena where the Higher Power
is attempting to work. Your principal responsibility in life
is to keep this arena—your own consciousness—
free of negative influences.
By accepting things
as they are and not making fruitless
comparisons to the situations of others or some
imagined ideal, one engages the power of the Creative.
If one remains balanced, modest, and
independent, good fortune will
come to hand.
from The I Ching, or Book of Changes
Maintaining
quiet awareness from
moment to moment, you’ll see
that your enlightenment is not separate
from the ordinary world but one with it.
It doesn’t come from some distance to
get to you and it doesn’t go away
when you stop attending to it.
Make awareness continuous,
though, and it will
surround
you.
You
can now buy
Wei wu Wei Ching as part of a
five-app bundle of Taoist classics
for iPhone or iPad for less than
the cost of one hardcover
book.
