Wednesday 30 April 2008
Count the stars in the sky.
- Zen koan
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Zen a day - Apr 29
Tuesday 29 April 2008
A student asked Wensui, "It is said that 'All Buddha's teachings comes from this scripture.' What is this scripture?"
Wensui answered, "It is always being recited."
- Zen mondo
A student asked Wensui, "It is said that 'All Buddha's teachings comes from this scripture.' What is this scripture?"
Wensui answered, "It is always being recited."
- Zen mondo
Monday, April 28, 2008
Zen a day - Apr 28
Saturday 26 April 2008
True Freedom is freedom from your own desires.
- Diamond Sutra
Sunday 27 April 2008
Someone asked Daojian, "What is your way?"
The master replied, "To be free wherever I am."
- Zen mondo
Monday 28 April 2008
If you take up a koan and investigate it unceasingly, your mind will die and your will will be destroyed. It is as though a vast, empty abyss lay before you, with no place to set your hands and feet. You face death and your bosom feels as though it were fire. Then suddenly you are one with the koan, and body and mind are cast off. . . . This is known as seeing into one's nature.
- Hakuin
True Freedom is freedom from your own desires.
- Diamond Sutra
Sunday 27 April 2008
Someone asked Daojian, "What is your way?"
The master replied, "To be free wherever I am."
- Zen mondo
Monday 28 April 2008
If you take up a koan and investigate it unceasingly, your mind will die and your will will be destroyed. It is as though a vast, empty abyss lay before you, with no place to set your hands and feet. You face death and your bosom feels as though it were fire. Then suddenly you are one with the koan, and body and mind are cast off. . . . This is known as seeing into one's nature.
- Hakuin
Friday, April 25, 2008
Zen a day - Apr 25
Friday 25 April 2008
Spring has come. A thousand flowers are in bloom - for what? for whom?
- Zen saying
Spring has come. A thousand flowers are in bloom - for what? for whom?
- Zen saying
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Zen a day - Apr 24
Thursday 24 April 2008
A monk is walking around outside and suddenly stubs his toe. A violent pain shoots up his leg. Hopping around in agony he thinks, "I've read that pain is a void. What the hell is this?" Then suddenly he gets it.
When his teacher asks him to explain, the monk said, "I cannot be deceived by others."
- Zen story
A monk is walking around outside and suddenly stubs his toe. A violent pain shoots up his leg. Hopping around in agony he thinks, "I've read that pain is a void. What the hell is this?" Then suddenly he gets it.
When his teacher asks him to explain, the monk said, "I cannot be deceived by others."
- Zen story
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Zen a day - Apr 23
Wednesday 23 April 2008
Yes, spring has come-
this morning a nameless hill
is shrouded in mist
-Bashō
Yes, spring has come-
this morning a nameless hill
is shrouded in mist
-Bashō
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Zen a day - Apr 22
Quite often I travel out of town on a weekend, which is why there is occasionally no Zen-a-day weekend post, such as this past weekend.
Friday 18 April 2008
How shall I grasp it? Do not grasp it. That which remains when there is no more grasping is the Self.
- Panchadasi
Saturday 19 April 2008
How many things do you say just to make an impression on others? What are you really achieving when you try to make an impression? If you didn't do things for merit or advancement, or if you didn't act with motives at all, what would life be like? At work? In bed? Alone in a room. Even alone in a room you can be consumed with wanting other people to see you in a good light.
- John Tarrant
Sunday 20 April 2008
You are the music while the music lasts.
- T. S. Eliot
Monday 21 April 2008
Shih-tou once said, "Whatever talk you have about it, however you conduct yourself, such things have no concern with it."
To which Weiyen answered, "Even when you do not talk about it, even when you do not conduct yourself in any way, such things have no concern with it."
"Here I have no room even for a needle's point," said Shih-tou.
To which Wei-yen replied, "Here it is like planting flowers on a rock."
- Zen mondo
Tuesday 22 April 2008
The mountains, rivers, grasses, trees, and forests are always emanating a subtle, precious light, day and night, always emanating a subtle, precious sound, demonstrating and expounding to all people the unsurpassed ultimate truth.
- Yuan-sou
Friday 18 April 2008
How shall I grasp it? Do not grasp it. That which remains when there is no more grasping is the Self.
- Panchadasi
Saturday 19 April 2008
How many things do you say just to make an impression on others? What are you really achieving when you try to make an impression? If you didn't do things for merit or advancement, or if you didn't act with motives at all, what would life be like? At work? In bed? Alone in a room. Even alone in a room you can be consumed with wanting other people to see you in a good light.
- John Tarrant
Sunday 20 April 2008
You are the music while the music lasts.
- T. S. Eliot
Monday 21 April 2008
Shih-tou once said, "Whatever talk you have about it, however you conduct yourself, such things have no concern with it."
To which Weiyen answered, "Even when you do not talk about it, even when you do not conduct yourself in any way, such things have no concern with it."
"Here I have no room even for a needle's point," said Shih-tou.
To which Wei-yen replied, "Here it is like planting flowers on a rock."
- Zen mondo
Tuesday 22 April 2008
The mountains, rivers, grasses, trees, and forests are always emanating a subtle, precious light, day and night, always emanating a subtle, precious sound, demonstrating and expounding to all people the unsurpassed ultimate truth.
- Yuan-sou
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Zen a day - Apr 16
Wednesday 16 April 2008
Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.
- Henry David Thoreau
Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.
- Henry David Thoreau
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Zen a day - Apr 15
Tuesday 15 April 2008
A jet black iron ball speeding through the dark night.
- "Definition" of satori
A jet black iron ball speeding through the dark night.
- "Definition" of satori
Monday, April 14, 2008
Zen a day - Apr 14
Monday 14 April 2008
Seppo visited Enkan three times, then visited Tosu three times, then visited Tozan nine times, all without result. At last he went to Tokusan and asked, "Is it possible for me, too, to share the Supreme Teachings of the Patriarchs?"
Tokusan struck him with his staff, saying, "What on earth are you talking about?"
The next day, Seppo asked Tokusan for an explanation. Tokusan said, "My religion has no words and sentences; it has nothing to give anybody."
At this, Seppo became enlightened.
- Zen mondo
Seppo visited Enkan three times, then visited Tosu three times, then visited Tozan nine times, all without result. At last he went to Tokusan and asked, "Is it possible for me, too, to share the Supreme Teachings of the Patriarchs?"
Tokusan struck him with his staff, saying, "What on earth are you talking about?"
The next day, Seppo asked Tokusan for an explanation. Tokusan said, "My religion has no words and sentences; it has nothing to give anybody."
At this, Seppo became enlightened.
- Zen mondo
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Zen a day - Apr 13
Sunday 13 April 2008
To go in the dark with a light is to know the light. To know the dark, go dark.
- Wendell Berry
To go in the dark with a light is to know the light. To know the dark, go dark.
- Wendell Berry
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Snowballing Goose
This should be a Canadian national sport; ....
Today I was out enjoying the nice Calgary weather with a friend, and out of pure fun threw a snowball at him.
We chatted about snowballs, the fun of them, and trowing them..... Then I heard the unmistakable sound of a Canada Goose, and decided to attempt to hit it with a snowball.
Both of us played 'Snowball the Goose'; throwing snowballs at the goose, which just stayed there. I did manage to hit the ground right next to the bird, spraying it with snowball remnants.
Now before anyone calls the wildlife protection or the Canadian government, keep in mind that the Canada Goose is not the national animal (that is the Beaver - on the 5¢ coin / Nickle), nor is it the national bird (that is the Common Loon - on the $1 coin / Loonie). And if anyone has experience with them in a neighbourhood, they tend to be a little messy, and annoying.... Also the Canada Goose we were playing with was not harmed.
Today I was out enjoying the nice Calgary weather with a friend, and out of pure fun threw a snowball at him.
We chatted about snowballs, the fun of them, and trowing them..... Then I heard the unmistakable sound of a Canada Goose, and decided to attempt to hit it with a snowball.
Both of us played 'Snowball the Goose'; throwing snowballs at the goose, which just stayed there. I did manage to hit the ground right next to the bird, spraying it with snowball remnants.
Now before anyone calls the wildlife protection or the Canadian government, keep in mind that the Canada Goose is not the national animal (that is the Beaver - on the 5¢ coin / Nickle), nor is it the national bird (that is the Common Loon - on the $1 coin / Loonie). And if anyone has experience with them in a neighbourhood, they tend to be a little messy, and annoying.... Also the Canada Goose we were playing with was not harmed.
Zen a day - Apr 12
Thursday 10 April 2008
Mysticism occurs whenever a human being sees the separation between the natural and the supernatural, the temporal and the eternal, as overcome.
- Albert Schweitzer
Friday 11 April 2008
One morning Hogen was giving the monks teaching before breakfast. He pointed to the bamboo blinds. Two monks came forward and rolled them up.
"One wins, the other loses," said Hogen.
- Zen koan
Saturday 12 April 2008
Coming or going, always at hom.
- Zen saying
Mysticism occurs whenever a human being sees the separation between the natural and the supernatural, the temporal and the eternal, as overcome.
- Albert Schweitzer
Friday 11 April 2008
One morning Hogen was giving the monks teaching before breakfast. He pointed to the bamboo blinds. Two monks came forward and rolled them up.
"One wins, the other loses," said Hogen.
- Zen koan
Saturday 12 April 2008
Coming or going, always at hom.
- Zen saying
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Zen a day - Apr 9
Wednesday 9 April 2008
Taoist chanting, Confucian chanting, Christian chanting, Buddhist chanting don't matter. Chanting "Coca Cola, Coca Cola, Coca Cola..." can be just as good if you keep a clear mind. But if you don't keep a clear mind, and are only following your thinking as you mouth the words, even Buddha cannot hear you.
- Seung Sahn
Taoist chanting, Confucian chanting, Christian chanting, Buddhist chanting don't matter. Chanting "Coca Cola, Coca Cola, Coca Cola..." can be just as good if you keep a clear mind. But if you don't keep a clear mind, and are only following your thinking as you mouth the words, even Buddha cannot hear you.
- Seung Sahn
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Mental or Physical Typo
I was typing away at a report, and suddenly the red line of miss spelled words appeared under a word I had typed a few times already in the report, so I wonder, where is my mind if I miss spell 'intersection' as 'intersextion' - or is it merely a slip of my finger?
Monday, April 7, 2008
Zen a day - Apr 7
Friday 4 April 2008
If you want the truth to stand clear before you, never be for or against.
-Seng-ts'an
Saturday 5 April 2008
A monk: "What is the fundamental teaching?"
Tun-men: "No question, no answer."
Sunday 6 April 2008
The subject matter of poetry is not that "collection of solid, static objects extended in space" but the life that is lived in the scene that it composes; and so reality is not that external scene but the life that is lived in it. Reality is things as they are.
- Wallace Stevens
Monday 7 April 2008
Go, go, beyond together, beyond the beyond to the shore of satori, to the wisdom of the Buddha.
- Heart Sutra
If you want the truth to stand clear before you, never be for or against.
-Seng-ts'an
Saturday 5 April 2008
A monk: "What is the fundamental teaching?"
Tun-men: "No question, no answer."
Sunday 6 April 2008
The subject matter of poetry is not that "collection of solid, static objects extended in space" but the life that is lived in the scene that it composes; and so reality is not that external scene but the life that is lived in it. Reality is things as they are.
- Wallace Stevens
Monday 7 April 2008
Go, go, beyond together, beyond the beyond to the shore of satori, to the wisdom of the Buddha.
- Heart Sutra
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Zen a day - Apr 3
Thursday 3 April 2008
Very early, I knew that the only object in life was to grow.
- Margaret Fuller
Very early, I knew that the only object in life was to grow.
- Margaret Fuller
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Zen a day - Apr 2
Wednesday 2 April 2008
In the scenery of spring, nothing is better, nothing worse;
The flowering branches are of themselves, some short, some long.
- Zen saying
In the scenery of spring, nothing is better, nothing worse;
The flowering branches are of themselves, some short, some long.
- Zen saying
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
What a foolish day it is to let the fools out to play
Hmmm, did I just make up the title? or did I drag that from a dark corner of my mind.
I am a queer fool, that's all I can say...
As queer as the Welsh are strange....
Just look at their language: with their double LLs and Y as a whole word, not to mention the double FFs, and one of the longest name places in the world: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyll-llantysiliogogogoch
(picture reposted from: http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/rbeard/gales.jpg )
For those that don't know their Welsh, the name of the town in North Wales translates as "The church of St. Mary in the hollow of white hazel trees near the rapid whirlpool by St. Tysilio's of the red cave." (Source: http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/rbeard/name.html )
Just so you know, I'm picking on the Welsh only because I proudly say I am part Welsh
(and part Scottish if you saw my Robbie Burns day post: Up ye kilt....)
Also because I came across one of the best quotes for this, the first day of April, a Welsh Proverb:
If every fool wore a crown, we should all be kings.
(source: http://www.quotegarden.com/april-fool-day.html )
I think only the Welsh are foolish enough to think that.
I will end this post with an online translation for today into Welsh (Unfortunately my Welsh is primarily based on online sources):
Ebrill Choegddynion Ddiwrnod
I am a queer fool, that's all I can say...
As queer as the Welsh are strange....
Just look at their language: with their double LLs and Y as a whole word, not to mention the double FFs, and one of the longest name places in the world: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyll-llantysiliogogogoch
For those that don't know their Welsh, the name of the town in North Wales translates as "The church of St. Mary in the hollow of white hazel trees near the rapid whirlpool by St. Tysilio's of the red cave." (Source: http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/rbeard/name.html )
Just so you know, I'm picking on the Welsh only because I proudly say I am part Welsh
(and part Scottish if you saw my Robbie Burns day post: Up ye kilt....)
Also because I came across one of the best quotes for this, the first day of April, a Welsh Proverb:
If every fool wore a crown, we should all be kings.
(source: http://www.quotegarden.com/april-fool-day.html )
I think only the Welsh are foolish enough to think that.
I will end this post with an online translation for today into Welsh (Unfortunately my Welsh is primarily based on online sources):
Ebrill Choegddynion Ddiwrnod
Zen a day - Apr 1
Tueaday 1 April 2008
The mouse eats cat food.
The cat bowl is broken.
What does this mean?
- Zen koan
The mouse eats cat food.
The cat bowl is broken.
What does this mean?
- Zen koan
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