The universal body
of reality is so subtle that you
do not hear it when you deliberately
listen for it, and you do not see it when you
look at it. As for the pure knowledge that
has no teacher, how can it be attained
by thought or study?
Posts Tagged → nook
the canon is still full of old paper
it is not something you can attain by embellishment
The Canon is still full of old paper
seventeen-hundred tangled vines
who can see through the mess
one thought is still too many
Red Pine’s “The Zen Works of Stonehouse”
remain serene in the unity of things
The perfect Way’s like boundless space
Nothing lacking, nothing extra
It is because of choice
That its absolute truth is lost.
Don’t pursue externals;
Don’t dally in the interior void.
When the spirit remains serene
In the unity of things
Dualism vanishes by itself;
When that unity is not clear
There is loss in both directions.
cast aside all thoughts
enlightenment is not apart from the world
To be unstained
in all environments is called no-thought…
If you stop thinking of the myriad things, and cast aside
all thoughts, as soon as one instant of thought is
cut off, you enter another realm.
The Dharma of no-thought means:
even though you see all things, you do not
attach to them, but, always keeping your own nature
pure, cast the six thieves of the senses to
exit through the six gates.
Even though you are
in the midst of the six dusts,
you do not stand apart from them,
yet are not stained by them, and
are free to come and go.
practice without any gaining idea
We say
to practice zazen
without any gaining idea,
without any purpose. Let things work
as they do, supporting everything as your own.
Real practice has orientation or direction, but it has
no purpose or gaining idea, so it can include everything
that comes. Whether it is good or bad doesn’t matter.
If something bad comes: “Okay, you are a part
of me;” and if something good comes,
“Oh, okay.” Because we don’t have
any special goal or purpose
of practice, it doesn’t
matter what
comes.