—Gossip —Our Words The Life Which is Tainted by the Habit of Speaking Unkind Words Falls Short of Its Highest Mission. THE LESSON—That the subtle practice of speaking carelessly concerning other people poisons many an ... Read more of The Brook at How to Draw.ca

Privacy

Samurai

The Law Of Balance In Life
It is also the case with human affairs. Social positions hig...

The Application Of The Law Of Causation To Morals
Although it may be needless to state here the law of causatio...

Zen Under The Toku-gana Shogunate
Peace was at last restored by Iye-yasu, the founder of the To...

The Beatitude Of Zen
We are far from denying, as already shown in the foregoing ch...

Retribution In The Past The Present And The Future Life
Then a question suggests itself: If there be no soul that su...

Zen Is Iconoclastic
For the followers of Bodhidharma, however, this conception of...

Enlightenment Implies An Insight Into The Nature Of Self
We cannot pass over, however, this weighty problem without sa...

Everything Is Living According To Zen
Everything alive has a strong innate tendency to preserve its...

The Law Of Balance
Nature governs the world with her law of balance. She puts t...

Life And Change
A peculiar phase of life is change which appears in the form ...

The Establishment Of The Rin Zai School Of Zen In Japan
[FN#67] The Lin Tsi school was started by Nan Yoh, a pr...

Idealistic Scepticism Concerning Objective Reality
But extreme Idealism identifies 'to be' with 'to be known,' a...

Let Go Of Your Idle Thoughts
[FN#263] A famous Zenist, Mu-go-koku-shi, is said to ha...

Man Is Good-natured According To Mencius
Oriental scholars, especially the Chinese men of letters, se...

The Characteristics Of Do-gen The Founder Of The Japanese So To Sect
In the meantime seekers after a new truth gradually began to ...

No Need Of The Scriptural Authority For Zen
Some Occidental scholars erroneously identify Buddhism with t...

Calmness Of Mind
The Yogi breathing above mentioned is fit rather for physical...

Sutras Used By Zen Masters
Ten Dai failed to explain away the discrepancies and contradi...

There Is No Mortal Who Is Purely Moral
By nature man should be either good or bad; or he should be g...

The Ten Pictures Of The Cowherd
[FN#275] The pictures were drawn by Kwoh Ngan (Kaku-an), a...

Buddha-nature Is The Common Source Of Morals

Furthermore, Buddha-nature or real self, being the seat of love and
the nucleus of sincerity, forms the warp and woof of all moral
actions. He is an obedient son who serves his parents with sincerity
and love. He is a loyal subject who serves his master with sincerity
and love. A virtuous wife is she who loves her husband with her
sincere heart. A trustworthy friend is he who keeps company with
others with sincerity and love. A man of righteousness is he who
leads a life of sincerity and love. Generous and humane is he who
sympathizes with his fellow-men with his sincere heart. Veracity,
chastity, filial piety, loyalty, righteousness, generosity, humanity,
and what not-all-this is no other than Buddha-nature applied to
various relationships of human brotherhood. This is the common
source, ever fresh and inexhaustible, of morality that fosters and
furthers the interests of all. To-ju[FN#170] expresses the similar
idea as follows:

There exists the Inexhaustible Source (of morality) within me.
It is an invaluable treasure.
It is called Bright Nature of man.
It is peerless and surpasses all jewels.
The aim of learning is to bring out this Bright Nature.
This is the best thing in the world.
Real happiness can only be secured by it.

Thus, in the first place, moral conduct, which is nothing but the
expression of Buddha-nature in action, implies the assertion of self
and the furtherance of one's interests. On this point is based the
half-truth of the Egoistic theory. Secondly, it is invariably
accompanied by a feeling of pleasure or satisfaction when it fulfils
its end. This accidental concomitance is mistaken for its essence by
superficial observers who adhere to the Hedonistic theory. Thirdly,
it conduces to the furtherance of the material and spiritual
interests of man, and it led the Utilitarians to the confusion of the
result with the cause of morality. Fourthly, it involves the control
or sacrifice of the lower and ignoble self of an individual in order
to realize his higher and nobler self. This gave rise to the
half-truth of the Ascetic theory of morality.

[FN#170] To-ju Naka-e (died A.D. 1649), the founder of the Japanese
Wang School of Confucianism, known as the Sage of Omi.

Next: The Parable Of A Drunkard
Previous: The Theory Of Buddha-nature Adequately Explains The Ethical States Of Man

Report
Privacy

SHARE

BOOKMARK

Viewed 584