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Samurai

Zazen Or The Sitting In Meditation
Habit comes out of practice, and forms character by degrees, ...

The Introduction Of The So-to School Of Zen
[FN#75] This school was started by Tsing-Yuen (Sei-gen)...

The Third Step In The Mental Training
To be the lord of mind is more essential to Enlightenment, wh...

Shakya Muni And The Prodigal Son
A great trouble with us is that we do not believe in half the...

Do Thy Best And Leave The Rest To Providence
There is another point of view which enables us to enjoy life...

Enlightenment Is Beyond Description And Analysis
In the foregoing chapters we have had several occasions to re...

The Theory Of Buddha-nature Adequately Explains The Ethical States Of Man
This theory of Buddha-nature enables us to get an insight int...

The Manliness Of The Zen Monk And Of The Samurai
Thirdly, both the Zen monk and the Samurai were distinguished...

Difficulties Are No Match For The Optimist
How can we suppose that we, the children of Buddha, are put a...

Where Then Does The Error Lie?
Where, then, does the error lie in the four possible proposit...

Man Is Both Good-natured And Bad-natured According To Yan Hiung
According to Yang Hiung and his followers, good is no less re...

The Disciples Under The Sixth Patriarch
Some time after this the Sixth Patriarch settled himself down...

Enlightened Consciousness
In addition to these considerations, which mainly depend on i...

The Creative Force Of Nature And Humanity
The innate tendency of self-preservation, which manifests its...

Zen In The Dark Age
The latter half of the Ashikaga period was the age of arms an...

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

The Progress And Hope Of Life
How many myriads of years have passed since the germs of life...

The Awakening Of The Innermost Wisdom
Having set ourselves free from the misconception of Self, nex...

The World Is In The Making
Our assertion is far from assuming that life is now complete,...

The Fifth And The Sixth Patriarchs
Tao Sin transmitted the Law to Hung Jan (Ko-nin), who being e...

True Dhyana

To sit in Meditation is not the only method of practising Zazen. We
practise Dhyana in sitting, in standing, and in walking, says one of
the Japanese Zenists. Lin Tsi (Rin-Zai) also says: To concentrate
one's mind, or to dislike noisy places, and seek only for stillness,
is the characteristic of heterodox Dhyana. It is easy to keep
self-possession in a place of tranquillity, yet it is by no means
easy to keep mind undisturbed amid the bivouac of actual life. It is
true Dhyana that makes our mind sunny while the storms of strife rage
around us. It is true Dhyana that secures the harmony of heart,
while the surges of struggle toss us violently. It is true Dhyana
that makes us bloom and smile, while the winter of life covets us
with frost and snow.

Idle thoughts come and go over unenlightened minds six hundred and
fifty times in a snap of one's fingers, writes an Indian
teacher,[FN#260] and thirteen hundred million times every
twenty-four hours. This might be an exaggeration, yet we cannot but
acknowledge that one idle thought after another ceaselessly bubbles
up in the stream of consciousness. Dhyana is the letting go,
continues the writer--that is to say, the letting go of the thirteen
hundred million of idle thoughts. The very root of these thirteen
hundred million idle thoughts is an illusion about one's self. He is
indeed the poorest creature, even if he be in heaven, who thinks
himself poor. On the contrary, he is an angel who thinks himself
hopeful and happy, even though he be in hell. Pray deliver me,
said a sinner to Sang Tsung (So-san).[FN#261] Who ties you up? was
the reply. You tie yourself up day and night with the fine thread of
idle thoughts, and build a cocoon of environment from which you have
no way of escape. 'There is no rope, yet you imagine yourself
bound.' Who could put fetters on your mind but your mind itself?
Who could chain your will but your own will? Who could blind your
spiritual eyes, unless you yourself shut them up? Who could prevent
you from enjoying moral food, unless you yourself refuse to eat?
There are many, said Sueh Fung (Sep-po) on one occasion, who
starve in spite of their sitting in a large basket full of victuals.
There are many who thirst in spite of seating themselves on the shore
of a sea. Yes, Sir, replied Huen Sha (Gen-sha), there are many
who starve in spite of putting their heads into the basket full of
victuals. There are many who thirst in spite of putting their heads
into the waters of the sea.[FN#262] Who could cheer him up who
abandons himself to self-created misery? Who could save him who
denies his own salvation?

[FN#260] The introduction to Anapana-sutra by Khin San Hwui, who
came to China A.D. 241.

[FN#261] The Third Patriarch.

[FN#262] Hwui Yuen (E-gen).

Next: Let Go Of Your Idle Thoughts
Previous: Zen And Supernatural Power

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