Reflections in Water

Reflections in Water

To yield is to be preserved whole.

To be bent is to become straight.

To be empty is to be full . . . 

To have little is to possess.

No Water, No Moon

When the nun Chiyono studied Zen under Bukko of Engaku she was unable to attain the fruits of meditation for a long time. 

At last one moonlit night she was carrying water in an old pail bound with bamboo. The bamboo broke and the bottom fell out of the pail, and at that moment Chiyono was set free! 

In commemoration, she wrote a poem:

In this way and that I tried to save the old pail

Since the bamboo strip was weakening and about

to break

Until at last the bottom fell out.

No more water in the pail!

No more moon in the water!

THE COMPLETE ENLIGHTENMENT SUTRA

As this illusory body vanishes, 

 This illusory mind also vanishes. 

As this illusory mind vanishes,

Illusory sense objects also vanish. 

As illusory sense objects vanish,

This illusory vanishing vanishes. 

As this illusory vanishing vanishes,

That which is not illusory does not vanish. 

Peace !

Nature's Abstract Art 9

Nature's Abstract Art - 9

"At this very moment, the Earth is above you, below you, all around you, and even inside you. The Earth is everywhere. You may be used to thinking of the Earth as only the ground beneath your feet. But the water, the sea, the sky, and everything around us comes from the Earth. Everything outside us and everything inside us comes from the Earth. We often forget that the planet we are living on has given us all the elements that make up our bodies. The water in our flesh, our bones, and all the microscopic cells inside our bodies all come from the Earth and are part of the Earth. The Earth is not just the environment we live in. We are the Earth and we are always carrying her within us.



Realizing this, we can see that the Earth is truly alive. We are a living, breathing manifestation of this beautiful and generous planet. Knowing this, we can begin to transform our relationship to the Earth. We can begin to walk differently and to care for her differently. We will fall completely in love with the Earth. When we are in love with someone or something, there is no separation between ourselves and the person or thing we love. We do whatever we can for them and this brings us great joy and nourishment. That is the relationship each of us can have with the Earth. That is the relationship each of us must have with the Earth if the Earth is to survive, and if we are to survive as well."

~Thich Nhat Hanh, Love Letter To The Earth

Have a Good Day

The First Principle

The First Principle

When one goes to Obaku temple in Kyoto he sees carved over the gate the words "The First Principle". The letters are unusually large, and those who appreciate calligraphy always admire them as being a masterpiece. They were drawn by Kosen two hundred years ago. 

When the master drew them he did so on paper, from which the workmen made the large carving in wood. As Kosen sketched the letters a bold pupil was with him who had made several gallons of ink for the calligraphy and who never failed to criticize his master's work. 

"That is not good," he told Kosen after his first effort.

"How is this one?" 

"Poor. Worse than before," pronounced the pupil. 

Kosen patiently wrote one sheet after another until eighty-four First Principles had accumulated, still without the approval of the pupil. 

Then when the young man stepped outside for a few moments, Kosen thought: "Now this is my chance to escape his keen eye," and he wrote hurriedly, with a mind free from distraction: "The First Principle." 

"A masterpiece," pronounced the pupil. 

Have a Good Day.