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When you look closely,
you see that people of the present
are none other than people of old,
and the functions of the present
are none other than the functions of the past;
even going through a thousand changes
and myriad transformations,
here it is just necessary
for you to recognize it first hand
before you can attain it.

~ Foyan (1067-1120)

On the mountain top one thatched hut,
Thirty li from roads.
Knock on the door: no disciple to answer;
Look in: only a table for tea.

The firewood cart is covered;
Have you gone fishing in the autumn stream?
I look among the pools, but miss you;
I try but fail to pay you my respects.

Grass shines in the fresh rain;
Pines murmur at evening windows.
Here at this moment a harmony,
Profound and unrivaled.

The self completely cleansed,
The heart, the ear.
Although there is no guest or host as such,
I’m able to intuit your pure thought.
Purpose fulfilled, I head back down the mountain.
No need now to wait for you.

~ Ch’iu Wei (8th c)

Look up to heaven and down on earth, and they will remind you of their impermanency.
Look about the world, and it will remind you of its impermanency.
But when you gain spiritual enlightenment, you shall then find wisdom.
The knowledge thus attained leads you to the Way.

Sutra of Forty Two Chapters

In the mountains
Are many companions of the Way,
Sitting Zen, chanting,
Forming a natural community.
But if you gazed
Far off from city walls,
In this direction,
All you would see is white clouds.

~ Wang Wei (701-761)

In the realm of True Purity, there is no such thing as “I” or “He” or “She,” nor can “friend” or “foe” be found there.

But the slightest confusion of mind brings innumerable differences and complications.

Peace and disorder in the world,
the distinction between friend and foe in human relationships,
follow upon one another as illusion begets delusion.

A person of spiritual insight will immediately recognize what is wrong and before long rid themselves of such an illusion.

~ Muso Kokushi (1275-1351)

The hidden birds on the treetops
Sing without pause
The sky clears, the rain stops,
The window brightens.
From the West came the wondrous
Meaning without words,
It may be gold dust, but
Don’t let it get in your eyes.

~ Zhengue (12th c)


sometimes zen makes a vibration that sounds like the sufi does
and sometimes not

Seeing the Way is like going into a dark room with a torch;
the darkness instantly departs, while the light alone remains.
When the Way is attained and the truth is seen,
ignorance vanishes and enlightenment abides forever

Sutra of Forty Two Chapters

My doctrine is to think the thought that is unthinkable,
to practice the deed that is non-doing,
to speak the speech that is inexpressible,
and to be trained in the discipline that is beyond discipline.
Those who understand this are near; those who are confused are far.

The Way is beyond words and expressions,
s bound by nothing earthly. Lose sight of it to an inch,
or miss it for a moment and we are away from it.

Sutra of Forty Two Chapters

The path to the meditation hall
Is steep and perilous;
I look back to view
The upper watershed.
A woodcutter’s trail links
All the peaks;
A boulder-choked creek
Flows through bamboo.
In deep woods,
The snow still lingers;
In foothills,
Gibbons have not yet cried.
Desiring to part from
The bitterness in the world,
I seek some words
From the Master.

~ Chia Tao (779-843)

For ten li I’ve been searching
For the hidden temple
Up branches
Of a cold stream.
Monks sit Ch’an
One with the snowy night.
With lamp flames dying,
Our words are subdued;
The rest of our lives
Should be in clouds and high peaks.

Chia Tao (779-843)

Everyone who reads my poems
Must protect the purity
Of their heart’s heart
Cut down your craving
Continue your days modestly
Coax the crooked and the bent
Then you’ll be upright
Drive out and chase
Away your evil karma
Return home and follow
Your true nature
On that day you’ll get the
Buddhabody as swiftly
As the Lu-ling runs

~ Han-shan

One hundred years of Emptiness

The fuel in the tea brazier is burnt out,
So I collect pine needles,
The fields of medicinal plants are empty,
So I cut vegetable roots.
Naturally dull, I’ve forgotten Zen activities,
My gate is darkened at noon by
The shade of ancient trees.
White clouds impart a sense of peace
To my Zen meditation,
Green grasses suffice to make a rug for my guests.
What I have collected is a hundred years
Of emptiness.

~ Isshi Bunshu (1608-1646)

does an internet website forum qualify as a grotto awaiting friends?
tis still attached to the world
tsk

Yearning for friends in my rocky cave,
I am captivated by the singing of small birds;
The wind entering deep into the grotto
Mingles with the voice of the stream.
Awakening from a dream,
This hermit exists beyond the world.
A quiet life, off by myself,
Fulfills my spirit.

~ Fugai Ekun (1568-1654)

The melancholy of worldly things
Can’t match the hills and mountains,
Where green pines hide the sun
And jasper streams flow long.

Mountain clouds are my tent,
The night moon is my fishing hook;
I sleep beneath wisteria,
My pillow a block of stone.

I don’t look up to the Son of Heaven;
Why should I envy lords and kings?
Life and death with no worries;
What sadness could there be?

~ Wang Fanzhi (7th c)

The 3000th post
Where ends the mystery?
The myriad of things
Are as nothing to the number
Of episodes of The Simpsons.