hakuin ekaku: working for the benefit of others
Boundless and
free is the sky of samadhi,
bright the full moon of wisdom!
Truly, is anything missing now?
Nirvana is right here, before our eyes;
this very place is the lotus land,
this very body the
buddha.
Something mysterious
and perfect existed before even heaven
and earth were born. Silent, immeasurable,
standing alone and unchanging, moving
without end or exhaustion, it is the
mother of the known and
unknown universe.
I don’t know
its name, so I call it by an
alias: tao. Forced to describe
it, I only say, “It is
great.”
That which is great continues.
That which continues goes far.
That which goes far returns.
Therefore tao is great,
Heaven is great, earth is great,
a person of tao is great. These
are the four greatnesses
in the universe.
A person of tao follows earth.
Earth follows Heaven.
Heaven follows tao.
Tao follows its
own nature.
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When praise is
lavished upon the famous,
the people contend and compete with
one another. When exotic goods are traded
and treasured, the compulsion to steal is
felt. When desires are constantly
stimulated, people become
disturbed and
confused.
Therefore,
the wise person sets an example
by emptying her mind, opening her heart,
relaxing her ambitions, relinquishing her desires,
cultivating her character. Having conquered her
own cunning and cravings, she can’t
be manipulated by
anyone.
Do
by not-doing.
Act with non-action.
Allow order to arise
of itself.
Tao te Ching of Lao Tzu, Chapter 3
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Only when you’ve
seen the Way do you practice
the Way — if you don’t see, what do you
practice? The emergence of the Way is like space —
what is there to cultivate in space? Those who practice
the Way by all kinds of contemplation are fire
stirring fire looking for foam. Just observe
the manipulation of the puppets —
when the strings are cut, it
all stops at once.
treasury of the eye of true teaching
But here it is. Right here.
There’s no getting there or not getting there.
This is what zen calls the gate of sudden enlightenment.
If you hesitate, you’ve lost it. If you go after it,
you draw farther away from it.