let the teaching flow out from your own breast

herself

 

Yantou and Xuefeng

were snowed in on Tortoise Mountain.

Day after day, Yantou slept while Xuefeng sat up

and meditated. On the third day, Yantou sat up

too and said, “Get some sleep. What do you

think you are — a roadside shrine?”

Xuefeng touched his chest and

said, “My heart isn’t at peace.

I can’t fool myself.”

 

Yantou grave a great yell.

“Don’t you know the family treasure doesn’t

come in through the gate?” he said. “Let the teaching

flow out from your own breast to cover

the sky and the earth.”

 

Xuefeng was suddenly enlightened

and cried out, “Today Tortoise Mountain

has finally awakened!”

 

John Tarrant

bring me the rhinoceros

 

complete and perfect of itself

studying texts and stiff meditation

 

Some people,

not knowing the essential emptiness

of good and evil, think practical cultivation of mind

means to sit rigidly immobile, subduing mind

and body, like a rock placed on

top of grass.

 

This is ludicrous.

That is why it is said that followers

cut off confusion in every state of mind,

yet the mind that does the cutting

off is a brigand.

 

…People who practice

the Way should not seek externally.

The essence of mind has no defilement; it is originally

complete and perfect of itself. Just detach from

illusory objects, and it is enlightened

to suchness as is.

 

Chinul

tracing back the radiance

 

add to goodness from your own heart

the way of jesus

 

Whenever we see

that goodness is lacking,

we may add to it from our own heart

and so complete the nobility of human nature.

This is done by patience, tolerance, kindness, forgiveness.

The lover of goodness loves every little sign of goodness.

He overlooks the faults and fills up the gaps by

pouring out love and supplying that

which is lacking. This is real

nobility of soul.

 

Hazrat Inayat Khan

the stream of love