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.
No time
to lose worrying about
enlightenment — forget about
ambition, hide your talent in
the coalshed: let your
wisdom speak for
itself.
The power
of the sword lies not in anger
but in its unsheathed beauty: in potential.
The marvel of chi is that internalized, it radiates
in flow like a golden shaft of light
anchoring our spirit with
the universe.
The heart is
The thousand-stringed instrument.
Our sadness and fear come from being
Out of tune with love.
All day long God coaxes my lips
To speak,
So that your tears will not stain
His green dress.
It is not that the Friend is vain,
It is just your life we care about.
Sometimes the Beloved
Takes my pen in hand,
For Hafiz is just a simple man.
The other day the Old One
Wrote on the Tavern wall:
“The heart is
The thousand-stringed instrument
That can only be tuned with
Love.”
On
the way to God
the difficulties feel like
being ground by a millstone,
like night coming at noon,
like lightning through
the clouds.
But
don’t worry!
What must come, comes.
Face everything with love, as
your mind dissolves
in God.
Filling
to fullness is not
as good as stopping
at the right
moment.
Oversharpening
a blade causes its edge to be lost.
Line your home with treasures and you
won’t be able to defend it. Amass possessions,
establish positions, display your pride:
Soon enough disaster drives
you to your
knees.
This is the
way of heaven:
do your work, then
quietly step
back.
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