...

A man of the Way comes
rapping at my brushwood gate
and wants to discuss the
essentials of Zen experience.
Don’t take it wrong
if this mountain monk’s
too lazy to open his mouth:
late spring warblers are
singing their hearts out,
a village of drifting petals.

- Jakushtsu (1290–1367)

Every day priests minutely
examine the Dharma
and endlessly chant
complicated sutras.
They should learn
how to read the love letters
sent by the wind and rain,
the snow and moon.

- Ikkyu (1394-1491)

As far as the eye can see,
No cherry blossom,
No crimson leaf:
A thatched hut by an inlet, This autumn evening.

- Teika

“Be yourself because an original is worth more than a copy.”

Suzy Kassem,

For twenty seven years
I’ve always sought the Way.
Well, this morning we passed
Like strangers on the road.

- Kokuin (10th c.)

I placed a flower on our river
And watched it out to sea
The flower isn't lost
Only lost to me.

Man must first
create peace in himself if he desires to see peace in the world; for
lacking peace within, no effort of his can bring any result. ~~Hazrat Inayat Khan

That night staying at a Buddhist temple,
I climbed to the highest room,
The brilliance of stars and moon
Obscured by the clouds.
Gibbons cried, the bell toned
I was oblivious to dawn
Until gradually brightening,
A cold winter sun rose in the East.

- Han Yu (805)

I write, erase, rewrite
Erase again, and then
A poppy blooms.

Katsushika Hokusai

“I miss Grampy Bobby”

Anon.

I acquired this hermitage a year ago
Cloudy peaks moon in the valley
Companions in withered Zen
Come morning
I descend the mountain road
In front of this crag
What mountain rock will I sleep on next?

- Jakush(i)tsu (1290-1367)

Your task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.

~ Rumi

Over the snowy mountain,
The star is still shining
As ever brilliantly
As when Buddha saw it
Long ago.
But alas!
Some of us fail to see it.

- Sengai (1750-1837)

I could feel at the time
There was no way of knowing
Fallen leaves in the night
Who can say where they're blowing
As free as the wind
And hopefully learning
Why the sea on the tide
Has no way of turning
More than this, there is nothing
More than this, tell me one thing
More than this, there is nothing
It was fun for a while
There was no way of knowing
Like a dream in the night
Who can say where we're going
No care in the world
Maybe I'm learning
Why the sea on the tide
Has no way of turning
More than this, you know there is nothing
More than this, tell me one thing
More than this, you know there is nothing
More than this
Nothing
More than this
More than this
Nothing

(More Than This, Roxy Music)

“Sweep away thoughts!” means one must do zazen. Once thoughts are quieted, the Original Face appears. Thoughts can be compared to clouds—when clouds vanish, the moon appears. The moon of suchness is the Original Face.

Thoughts are also like the fogging of a mirror—when you wipe away all condensation, a mirror reflects clearly. Quiet your thoughts and behold your Original Face before you were born.

- Daito

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when clouds vanish/disperse, the moon appears
so easy for my simple mind to understand