Each Smile A Hymn Each Kindly Word A Prayer

: THE NATURE OF MAN

The glorious sun of Buddha-nature shines in the zenith of Enlightened

Consciousness, but men still dream a dream of illusion. Bells and

clocks of the Universal Church proclaim the dawn of Bodhi, yet men,

drunk with the liquors of the Three Poisons[FN#176] Still slumber in

the darkness of sin. Let us pray to Buddha, in whose bosom we live,

for the sake of our own salvation. Let us invoke Buddha, whose

boundless mercy
ever besets us, for the Sake of joy and peace of all

our fellow-beings. Let us adore Him through our sympathy towards the

poor, through our kindness shown to the suffering, through our

thought of the sublime and the good.



O brother man, fold to thy heart thy brother;

Where pity dwells, the peace of God is there;

To worship rightly is to love each other,

Each smile a hymn, each kindly word a prayer.

--Whittier.



Let, then, your heart be so pure that you may not be unworthy of the

sunshine beaming upon you the light of Universal Spirit. Let your

thought be so noble that you may deserve fair flowers blooming before

you, reminding you of merciful Buddha. Let your life be so good that

you may not be ashamed of yourself in the presence of the Blessed

One. This is the piety of Mahayanists, especially of Zenists.





[FN#176] Lust, anger, and folly.



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