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Do not go after the past,
Nor lose yourself in the future.
For the past no longer exists,
And the future is not yet here.
By looking deeply at things just as they are,
In this moment, here and now,
The seeker lives calmly and freely.
You should be attentive today,
For waiting until tomorrow is too late.
Death can come and take us by surprise
How can we gainsay it?
The one who knows
How to live attentively
Night and day
Is the one who knows
The best way to be independent.
- Bhaddekaratta Sutra

Few people believe their
Inherent mind is Buddha.
Most will not take this seriously,
And therefore are cramped.
They are wrapped up in illusions, cravings,
Resentments, and other afflictions,
All because they love the cave of ignorance.
- Fenyang

To be able to be unhurried when hurried;
To be able not to slack off when relaxed;
To be able not to be frightened
And at a loss for what to do,
When frightened at a loss;
This is the learning that returns us
To our natural state and transforms our lives.
- Liu Wenmin

We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
French author & moralist (1613 - 1680)

Abandon your
Illusory mind
And meditate:
Who is seeing?
Who is listening?

- Japanese Folk Zen saying

The bamboo’s shadow sweeps the yard,
But the dust doesn’t move.
Moonlight enters the sea, But the waves leave no trace.

- Jinkag Haesim (1178-1234)

"Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day."

-- or so I'm told.

Learning the Way means not wasting time; Diligent practice, over and over is required. We never know what we’re after at first, Just an abstract idea. When our heart is empty The light of Tao shines within us. Quiet emptiness, Drifting like clouds without direction: Coming and going without hindrance. This is the true Way.
- Loy Ching-yuen 1879-1960’s)

To part the grass and see the wind
And distinguish true from false,
You must first pluck out
All the sand from your eyes.
Raise your head,
As if tasting Tianhuang’s cake;
Empty your minds
It’s hard to drink Zhaozhou’s tea.
Without a word,
Nanquan returned to his cell;
Lingyun wrote a poem
When enlightened by peach blossoms.
Explain these to me
From the beginning;
Let me see the true master
Of the Dharma forest.

- Huanglong Huinan (1002-1060)

"The search for an answer is an evasion of the problem."

J. Krishnamurti, Commentaries On Living, Vol. 1.

Water streams down the mountain,
thoughtless;
Clouds return to high caves,
mindless.
When people can match
the clouds and water,
Iron trees will blossom,
and everywhere will be spring.

- Ci'an Shoujing (mid 12th c)

From the world of passions,
Returning to the world of passions.
There is a moment’s pause.
If it rains, let it rain,
If the wind blows, let it blow.
- Ikkyu (1394-1481)

What does it matter,
The new year, the old year?
I stretch out my legs
And all alone have a
Quiet sleep.
Don’t tell me the monks
Aren’t getting their instruction;
Here and there the nightingale
Is singing;
The highest Zen.
- Bankei (1622-1693)

"Among the truths you would do well to contemplate frequently are these two: first, that things can never touch the soul, but stand inert outside it, so that disquiet can arise only from fancies within; and secondly, that all visible objects change in a moment, and will be no more. ... The whole universe is change, and life is but what you deem it."


"Come what will upon such parts of me as can be affected by its incidence; they may complain of it if they will. As for myself, if I do not view the thing as an evil, I take no hurt. And nothing compels me to view it so."


Marcus Aurelius, Meditations.

In this quiet valley one hears nothing
But the gentle sighing of the pines,
In the recesses of the mountains
There is no crying of birds.
When one opens the door,
One sees the snow-covered mountains
Clearly delineated.
The singing of the golden brook
Permeates the forest.

- Wang Wei (701-761)