All conditioned things are impermanent. Work out your own salvation with diligence.

think of the trees

Just think of the trees:
they let the birds perch and fly,
with no intention to call them when they come
and no longing for their return when they fly away.
If people's hearts can be like the trees,
they will not be off the Way.

The myriad differences resolved by sitting,
All doors opened.
In this still place I follow my nature, be what it may.
From the one hundred flowers I wander freely,
The soaring cliff- my hall of meditation

Those who awaken never rest in one place.
Like swans, they rise and leave the lake.
On the air they rise and fly an invisible course.
Their food is knowledge.
They live on emptiness.
They have seen how to break free.
Who can follow them?

Trust Yourself

Believe nothing on the faith of traditions,
even though they have been held in honor
for many generations and in diverse places.
Do not believe a thing because many people speak of it.
Do not believe on the faith of the sages of the past.
Do not believe what you yourself have imagined,
persuading yourself that a God inspires you.
Believe nothing on the sole authority of your masters and priests.
After examination, believe what you yourself have tested
and found to be reasonable, and conform your conduct thereto.

Don't wish for perfect health.
In perfect health, there is greed and wanting.
So an ancient said,
"Make good medicine from the suffering of sickness."
Don't hope for life without problems.
An easy life results in a judgmental and lazy mind.
So an ancient once said,
"Accept the anxieties and difficulties of this life".
Don't expect your practice to be clear of obstacles.
Without hindrances the mind that seeks enlightenment may be burnt out.
So an ancient once said,
"Attain deliverance in disturbances".

Who am I today?

Where there is beauty, there is ugliness.
When something is right,
Something else is wrong.
Knowledge and ignorance
Depend on each other.
It has been like this since the beginning.
How could it be otherwise now?
Wanting to chuck out one
And hold onto the other
Makes for a ridiculous comedy.
You must still deal with everything
Ever-changing,
Even when you say it's wonderful.

Just Look

When you go out on a boat and look around, you feel as if the shore were moving. But if you fix your eyes on the rim of the boat, you become aware that the boat is moving. It is exactly the same when you try to know the objective world while still in a state of confusion in regard to your own body and mind; you are under the misapprehension that your own mind, your own nature, is something real and enduring. Only when you sit straight and look into yourself, does it become clear that , you yourself are changing, the objective world has a reality apart from you.

Pass it on

Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle,
and the life of the candle will not be shortened.
Happiness never decreases by being shared.