Posts Tagged → realization

open, light, and transparent

bruno bisang

 

The

great truth of zen

is possessed by everybody.

Look into your own being and seek

it not through others. Your own mind is

above all forms; it is free and quiet and sufficient;

it eternally stamps itself in your six senses and four elements.

In its light all is absorbed. Hush the dualism of subject and object,

forget both, transcend the intellect, sever yourself from

the understanding, and directly penetrate deep

into the identity of the buddha-mind;

outside of this there are

no realities.

 

…Put your

simple faith in this,

discipline yourself accordingly;

let your body and mind be turned into

an inanimate object of nature like a stone or

a piece of wood; when a state of perfect motionlessness

and unawareness is obtained all the signs of life will depart and

also every trace of limitation will vanish. Not a single idea will disturb

your consciousness, when lo! All of a sudden you will come to realize

the light abounding in full gladness. It is like coming across the

light in thick darkness; it is like receiving treasure in poverty.

The four elements and the five aggregates are no more

felt as burdens; so light, so easy, so free you are.

Your very existence has been delivered

from all limitations; you have

become open, light, and

transparent.

 

Yuanwu

zen letters

 

their breath came from deep inside

we just sit

 

The ancient Masters slept

without dreams and woke up without worries.

Their breath came from deep inside them. They didn’t cling

to life, weren’t anxious about death. They emerged without desire

and reentered without resistance. They came easily; they went easily.

They didn’t ask where they were from; they didn’t ask where

they were going. They took everything as it came,

gladly, and walked into death without fear.

They accepted life as a gift, and

they handed it back

gratefully.

 

Chuang Tzu

the essence of wisdom

 

when young there was a girl

lucien stryk on shinkichi takahashi

 

I hold a newspaper, reading.  

Suddenly my hands become cow ears,

Then turn into Pusan, the South Korean port.

 

Lying on a mat

Spread on the bankside stones,

I fell asleep.

But a willow leaf, breeze-stirred,

Brushed my ear.

I remained just as I was,

Near the murmurous water.

 

When young there was a girl

Who became a fish for me.

Whenever I wanted fish

Broiled in salt, I’d summon her.

She’d get down on her stomach

To be sun-cooked on the stones.

And she was always ready!

 

Alas, she no longer comes to me.

An old benighted drake, 

I hobble homeward.

But look, my drake feet become horse hoofs!

Now they drop off

And, stretching marvelously,

Become the tracks of the Tokaido Railway Line.

 

Shinkichi Takahashi

triumph of the sparrow