Let Go Of Your Idle Thoughts
[FN#263] A famous Zenist, Mu-go-koku-shi, is said to have replied to every questioner, saying: Let go of your idle thoughts. A Brahmin, having troubled himself a long while with reference to the problem of life and of the world, ... Life And Change
A peculiar phase of life is change which appears in the form of growth and decay. Nobody can deny the transitoriness of life. One of our friends humorously observed: Everything in the world may be doubtful to you, but it can never be doubted that ... Life And Change
Transformation and change are the essential features of life; life is not transformation nor change itself, as Bergson seems to assume. It is something which comes under our observation through transformation and change. There are, among Buddhists... Life Change And Hope
The doctrine of Transcience never drives us to the pessimistic view of life. On the contrary, it gives us an inexhaustible source of pleasure and hope. Let us ask you: Are you satisfied with the present state of things? Do you not sympathize with... Life Consists In Conflict
Life consists in conflict. So long as man remains a social animal he cannot live in isolation. All individual hopes and aspirations depend on society. Society is reflected in the individual, and the individual in society. In spite of this, his i... Life In The Concrete
Life in the concrete, which we are living, greatly differs from life in the abstract, which exists only in the class-room. It is not eternal; it is fleeting; it is full of anxieties, pains, struggles, brutalities, disappointments, and calamities. ... Man Is Bad-natured According To Siun Tsz
The weaknesses of Mencius's theory are fully exposed by another diametrically opposed theory propounded by Siun Tsz (Jun-shi) and his followers. 'Man is bad-natured,' says Siun Tsz, 'since he has inborn lust, appetite, and desire for wealth.... Man Is Both Good-natured And Bad-natured According To Yan Hiung
According to Yang Hiung and his followers, good is no less real than evil, and evil is no more unreal than good. Therefore man must be double-natured-that is, partly good and partly bad. This is the reason why the history of man is full of fiendis... Man Is Good-natured According To Mencius
Oriental scholars, especially the Chinese men of letters, seem to have taken so keen an interest in the study of human nature that they proposed all the possible opinions respecting the subject in question-namely, (1) man is good-natured; (2)... Man Is Neither Good-natured Nor Bad-natured According To Su Shih
The difficulty may be avoided by a theory given by Su Shih and other scholars influenced by Buddhism, which maintains that man is neither good-natured nor bad-natured. According to this opinion man is not moral nor immoral by nature, but unmoral.... Man Is Not Good-natured Nor Bad-natured But Buddha-natured
We have had already occasion to observe that Zen teaches Buddha-nature, which all sentient beings are endowed with. The term 'Buddha-nature,'[FN#165] as accepted generally by Buddhists, means a latent and undeveloped nature, which enables its owner... Missionary Activity Of The Sixth Patriarch
As we have seen above, the Sixth Patriarch was a great genius, and may be justly called a born Zen teacher. He was a man of no erudition, being a poor farmer, who had served under the Fifth Patriarch as a rice-pounder only for eight months, but he ... Nature And Her Lesson
Nature offers us nectar and ambrosia every day, and everywhere we go the rose and lily await us. Spring visits us men, says Gu-do,[FN#277] her mercy is great. Every blossom holds out the image of Tathagata. What is the spiritual body of Buddha wh... Nature Favours Nothing In Particular
There is another point of view of life, which gave the present writer no small contentment, and which he believes would cure one of pessimistic complaint. Buddha, or Universal Life conceived by Zen, is not like a capricious despot, who acts not sel... Nature Is The Mother Of All Things
Furthermore, man has come into existence out of Nature. He is her child. She provided him food, raiment, and shelter. She nourishes him, strengthens him, and vitalizes him. At the same time she disciplines, punishes, and instructs him. His body...

The First Step In The Mental Training The Next Step In The Mental Training Life Consists In Conflict Bodhidharma And His Successor The Second Patriarch A Sutra Equal In Size To The Whole World The Five Ranks Of Merit Sutras Used By Zen Masters Great Men And Nature

The Usual Explanation Of The Canon Thing-in-itself Means Thing-knowerless The Errors Of Philosophical Pessimists And Religious Optimists The Introduction Of The So-to School Of Zen Three Important Elements Of Zen The Examination Of The Notion Of Self The Method Of Instruction Adopted By Zen Masters The Progress And Hope Of Life