...

I cannot find the Monastery of Heaped Fragrance,
Miles up now into the clouds of the summit.
There is no footpath through the ancient woods.
Where did the bell sound,
Deep in the sound, deep in the mountain?
The voice of the torrent gulps over jagged stones;
Sunlight hardly warms the bluish pines.
As dusk deepens in these unfathomable mazes,
I practice meditation
To subdue the dragon of desire.

~ Wang Wei (701–761)

It is the one without obsession who is noble.
Just do not act in a contrived manner; simply be normal.
When you go searching elsewhere outside yourself,
your whole approach is already mistaken.

You just try to seek buddhahood,
but buddhahood is just a name, an expression.
Do you know the one who is doing the searching?

~ Lin Chi (d. 867)

In the still night by the vacant window,
Wrapped in monk’s robe I sit in meditation.
Navel and nostrils lines up straight;
Ears paired to the slope of the shoulders.
Window whitens – the moon comes up;
Rain’s stopped, but drops go on dripping.
Wonderful – the moon of this moment,
Distant, vast.

~ Ryokan (1758–1831)

The buddhas and Zen masters
of all times and places have emerged
only on account of search for truth.
Present day seekers are also in search of truth.
Only when you attain truth will you be done;
until you have attained it,
you will repeat your former ways.

~ Lin Chi (d 867)

I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in
And stops my mind from wandering
Where it will go

I'm filling the cracks that ran through the door
And kept my mind from wandering
Where it will go

And it really doesn't matter if
I'm wrong I'm right
Where I belong I'm right
Where I belong
See the people standing there
Who disagree and never win
And wonder why they don't get in my door

I'm painting the room in a colourful way
And when my mind is wandering
There I will go
Ooh ooh ooh ah ah
Hey, hey, hey, hey

And it really doesn't matter if
I'm wrong I'm right
Where I belong I'm right
Where I belong
Silly people run around
They worry me and never ask me
Why they don't get past my door

I'm taking the time for a number of things
That weren't important yesterday
And I still go
Ooh ooh ooh ah ah

I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in
Stops my mind from wandering
Where it will go oh
Where it will go oh

I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in
Stops my mind from wandering
Where it will go
Where it will go

I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in
Stops my mind from wandering
Where it will go

~ John Lennon

Recognize as the basis the mind
That does not pursue things.
In the midst of your daily activities,
As you attend to things and
Respond to things,
Always rely on this mind that
Does not pursue things.
As soon as your mind starts to pursue
Things, immediately gather it back in.
Stay with this for a long time, and you
Will gradually become ripe.

~ Luo Hongxian (1504-1564)


"ripe"
lol, some translations do not appear as accurate as others

@rookie54 said
Recognize as the basis the mind
That does not pursue things.
In the midst of your daily activities,
As you attend to things and
Respond to things,
Always rely on this mind that
Does not pursue things.
As soon as your mind starts to pursue
Things, immediately gather it back in.
Stay with this for a long time, and you
Will gradually become ripe.

~ Luo Hongxian (1504-1564)


"ripe"
lol, some translations do not appear as accurate as others

Take a shower or not.
What does the water care?
Think kind thoughts when you fill your ice-cube trays.
Maybe the water-crystals of water will thank you.

What kind of busybody would command:
"Recognize this but not that"?
Oh sure, as if we're supposed to believe
the mind that does not pursue things

had everything to do with this guy writing
some controlling albeit probably well-intended
verbiage while he somehow kept the mind
of pursuing things at bay. Sounds legit.

-- Mei Guan Xi, 2022

Kuei-shan asked Yun-yen,
“What is the seat of enlightenment?”
Yun-yen said,
“Freedom from artificiality.”

~ Kuei-shan (771-854)

With the moon emerged,
My mind is motionless.
Sitting on this frosty seat,
No further dream of fame.
The forest, the mountain
Follow their ancient ways,
And through the long spring day,
Not even a shadow of a bird.

~ Reizan (1411)

What is the truth?
The truth is the reality of mind.
The reality of mind is formless
and pervades the ten directions.
It is being used presently,
right before your eyes,
yet people do not trust it sufficiently,
so they accept terms and expressions,
seeking to assess Buddhism
conceptually in the written word.
They are as far away as the sky is from earth.

~ Lin Chi (d 867)

@rookie54 said
With the moon emerged,
My mind is motionless.
Sitting on this frosty seat,
No further dream of fame.
The forest, the mountain
Follow their ancient ways,
And through the long spring day,
Not even a shadow of a bird.

~ Reizan (1411)

Not seeking fame is a great idea.
People seem to be crazy these days --
better not to play with their desires.
As for the moon: I only get half?

Enlightened or not,
what kind of person
sits down to write
poems like this?*
_____
*Reveal Hidden Content

My hut isn’t quite six feet across
Surrounded by pine, bamboos, and mountains,
An old monk hardly has room for himself
Much less for a visiting cloud.

~ Shih-wu (1272-1352)

Make no mistake about it;
if you do not find it now,
you will repeat the same routines for myriad eons,
a thousand times over again,
following and picking up on objects that attract you.
We are no different from Shakyamuni Buddha.

Today, in your various activities,
what do you lack?
The spiritual light
coursing through your six senses
has never been interrupted.
If you can see in this way,
you will simply be free of burdens all your life.

~ Lin Chi (d 867)

When this mind is clear and bright
And is not covered over,
Then you are not very different
From the sages.

If you allow no wavering
From this clarity, and do not
Let it change,
And do not cling to it,
And do not neglect it:
This is learning.

Just protect it all the time
And do not damage its clarity.

~ Luo Hongxian (1504-1564)