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Since middle age I’ve been
A most enthusiastic Buddhist
Now that I’m old I’ve settled
Here in the mountain country
Sometimes I get so happy
I have to go off by myself
There are marvelous places
I alone know about
I climb
To the source of a stream
And sit
To watch the rising mists
Sometimes I come across
An old man in the woods
We talk and laugh
And forget to go home.

~ Wang Wei

Many indeed are
The ways to climb
The mountain,
But it is the same moon
That we see over the peak.

~ Ikkyu (1394-1481)

Every moment is impermanent,
and the passing of the months and years
is not unlike the flowing of a mountain stream.
And are not bodies as bubbles on that water?
Though there are rosy cheeks in the morning,
by nightfall there may be whitened bones.

~ Shosan (1579-1655)

Living deep in the mountains
I’ve grown fond of the
Solitary sound of the pines;
On days the wind does not blow
How lonely it is!

~ Rengetsu (1791-1875)

The central benefit of Zen,
in the context of the ordinary ups and downs of life,
is not in preventing the minus and promoting the plus
but in realizing the fundamental reality that is not under the sway of ups and downs.

~ Muso Kokushi (1275-1351)

Ten miles of rugged road, steep hills
For every mile of flat.
One crag sees me off as
One crag greets me.
Green mountains’ tight cocoon
To bind me.
I can’t believe that up ahead
There’s any road to go.

~ Yuan Me (1716-1798)

Every day, priests minutely examine the Dharma
And endlessly chant complicated sutras.
Before doing that, though,
They should learn how to read the
Love letters sent by the wind and rain,
The snow and moon.

~ Ikkyu (1394-1481)

Beating the heat is like hiding from guests:
Just stay in the shade in the All, and keep quiet
A few tall Wu-t’ung trees will ward off the sun.
A winding stream will beckon the breeze.
And if, in the heat, guests appear after all,
They might just like to hide here too.

~ Yuan Mei (1716-1798)

SURRENDER AND SELF-EXAMINATION
July 17
My stability came out of trying to give, not out of demanding that I receive.

Thus I think it can work out with emotional sobriety. If we examine every disturbance we have, great or small, we will find at the root of it some unhealthy dependency and its consequent unhealthy demand. Let us, with God's help, continually surrender these hobbling demands. Then we can be set free to live and love; we may then be able to Twelfth Step ourselves and others into emotional sobriety.

THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 238

Years of dependency on alcohol as a chemical mood-changer deprived me of the capability to interact emotionally with my fellows. I thought I had to be self-sufficient, self-reliant, and self-motivated in a world of unreliable people. Finally I lost my self-respect and was left with dependency, lacking any ability to trust myself or to believe in anything. Surrender and self-examination while sharing with newcomers helped me to ask humbly for help.


6923 days in a row
not a drop

NEW DAY
God bless everyone
no exceptions

Nirvana shares one quality with the lotus,
shares two qualities with water,
three qualities with medicine,
ten with space,
and five with a mountain peak.

As the lotus is unstained by water, so is Nirvana unstained by all the defilements.
As cool water allays feverish heat, so also Nirvana is cool and allays the fever of all passions.

Moreover, as water removes the thirst of humans and animals who are exhausted, parched, thirsty, and overpowered by heat,
so also Nirvana removes craving for sensuous enjoyments, the craving for further becoming, the craving for cessation of becoming.

As medicine protects from the torments of poison,
so Nirvana eases the torments of poisonous passions.

Moreover, as medicine puts an end to sickness,
so Nirvana puts an end to all sufferings.
Finally Nirvana and medicine both give security.

~ Nagasena

I draw water from the well to wash my teeth
And purify my mind as I clean my clothes.
Idly turning the pages of my book
I step out to the eastern library.

No one wants the true teachings
The world follows upon false tracks.
I had hoped the words bequeathed me
Would be profound,
But how can one write down
The true nature of things?

It is quiet here in the temple courtyard
Where the colors of moss join the dense bamboos.
The sun clears away the last of the morning mist
And the green pines seem sleeked with oil

Wordless I try to speak.
Realization floods my heart with rest.

~ Liu Tsung-yuan

With every new spring
The blossoms speak
Not a word,
Yet expound the Law,
Knowing what is its heart
From the scattering
Storm winds

~ Shotetsu (1381-1459)

Do not cling to the letter, just comprehend the meaning,
referring each point to your own self,
so as to merge with the original source.

Then the knowledge that has no teacher will spontaneously appear,
the pattern of natural reality will be perfectly clear,
and you will attain the body of wisdom,
attaining enlightenment without depending on anyone else.

~ Chinul (1158-1210)

this is relevant to today's events


In all worldly situations, whether good or evil,
Pleasant or ugly, friendly or hostile,
And when faced with provocative, critical,
Oppressive and quarrelsome language,
All this should be treated as empty.

All thoughts of retaliation should
Be dismissed.
Instant after instant, one should not
Think of the past, because if past, present and future
Thoughts succeed one another without
Interruption, this is bondage.

If there are no thoughts abiding in anything,
This is freedom from bondage.
Therefore, non-abiding is set up
As the fundamental of this Dharma door.

Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra

When you enter this Dharma door,
Sitting upright, you become Buddha.
Upon reaching the other shore
You attain perfection.

True aspirants of the Tao
Contemplate their own mind.
Knowing Buddha lies within,
There is no need to search outside.

~ Master Fu (497-569)