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"I don’t care if time passes or not"



A nice old temple
Against a green mountain;
A white cloud opens and closes
Its two brushwood doors.
All I have is a water bottle and a stick,
And I don’t care if time passes or not.

- Daegak Euchon (1055-1101)

This room is so wide and empty
Every thought vanishes in it.
A narrow lane carved in rock,
A well sprung from a hole in a stone.
The bright moon hangs at the
End of the eaves,
And a cold gust shakes the valley.
Who can follow in these footsteps
And, sitting quietly, learn true happiness?

- Deagam Tanyon (1070-1179)

sitting before the silent burning incense
i watch the moss thicken on the stone bridge
don’t ask me why
i’ve been out of step with the world since my youth

- Wonkam Chungji (1226-1292)

Beware of gnawing the ideogram of nothingness:
Your teeth will crack.
Swallow it whole, and you’ve a treasure
Beyond the hope of Buddha and the Mind.
The east breeze fondles the horse’s ears
How sweet the smell of plum.

- Karasumaru-Mitsuhiro (1579–1638)

Song to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"
(words, I think, by one Dick Taylor)

"Christ has put on human nature and become a man like me.
He has died upon the cross that I from Adam might be free.
He has risen and in Spirit He has come to live in me,
That He might be my life.

Victory, victory Hallelujah!
Victory, victory Hallelujah!
Victory, victory Hallelujah!
For Christ is now my all."

Christ has put on human nature and become a man like me.
He has died upon the cross that I from Adam might be free.
He is risen and in Spirit He has come to live in me
That He might be my life."

Chorus again.

(thankyou for reading or singing along)

Sentient beings are primarily all Buddhas:
It is like ice and water,
Apart from water no ice can exist;
Outside sentient beings, where do we find the Buddhas?
Not knowing how near the Truth is,
People seek it far away, what a pity!

- Hakuin (1685–1768)

Becoming a buddha is easy
But ending illusions is hard
So many frosted moonlit nights
I’ve sat and felt the cold before dawn.

- Shih-wu (1272-1352)

When one comes to the Essence of Being
The shining Wisdom of Reality
Illumines all like the cloudless sky.

- Milarepa

half of life is lost in charming others
the other half is lost in going through anxieties caused by others
leave this play
you have played enough

- rumi

To know that the one good is balance and yet not to reach balance, to know all phenomena are mind and yet not to understand mind; this is confusion.
To know the matter of birth and death is serious and yet not to realize birthlessness, to know impermanence is swift and yet not to realize there is fundamentally no speed; this is confusion.

- Records of the Lanka

Know the essence of mind.
Its intrinsic essence is pure clarity.
It is essentially the same as a Buddha.
Know the functions of the mind.
Its functions produce the treasure of teachings.
When its activity is always silent,
Myriad illusions become suchness.

- Tao-hsin (580-651)

Constantly be aware,
Without stopping.
When the aware mind is present,
It senses the formlessness of things.

- Tao-hsin (580-651)

Consciousness and perception range from shallow to deep.
As for profound perceptions, they are pure through the ages.
They are the basis to influence and cultivate mind from the first generation of the aspiration for enlightenment until the achievement of buddhahood without falling back.

- Records of the Lanka

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)

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 (1394-1491)