Buddhism The Parable Of The Monk And The Stupid Woman
The confused or unenlightened may be compared with a monk and...
The Four Alternatives And The Five Categories
There are, according to Zen, the four classes of religious an...
Life Consists In Conflict
Life consists in conflict. So long as man remains a social a...
The Method Of Instruction Adopted By Zen Masters
Thus far we have described the doctrine of Zen inculcated by ...
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...
The Application Of The Law Of Causation To Morals
Although it may be needless to state here the law of causatio...
Life In The Concrete
Life in the concrete, which we are living, greatly differs fr...
A Sutra Equal In Size To The Whole World
The holy writ that Zen masters admire is not one of parchment...
The Examination Of The Notion Of Self
The belief in immortality is based on the strong instinct of
...
Let Go Of Your Idle Thoughts
A famous Zenist, Mu-go-koku-shi, is said to have replied ...
Enlightenment Implies An Insight Into The Nature Of Self
We cannot pass over, however, this weighty problem without sa...
How To Worship Buddha
The author of Vimalakirtti-nirdeca-sutra well explains our at...
The Law Of Balance
Nature governs the world with her law of balance. She puts t...
Zen After The Downfall Of The Ho-jo Regency
Towards the end of the Ho-Jo period, and after the downfall o...
An Illusion Concerning Appearance And Reality
To get Enlightened we must next dispel an illusion respecting...
There Is No Mortal Who Is Purely Moral
By nature man should be either good or bad; or he should be g...
Zen And The Regent Generals Of The Ho-jo Period
No wonder, then, that the representatives of the Samurai clas...
The Ancient Buddhist Pantheon
The ancient Buddhist pantheon was full of deities or Buddhas,...
The Spiritual Attainment Of The Sixth Patriarch
Some time before his death (in 675 A.D.) the Fifth Patriarch
...
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The Buddha Of Mercy
Milton says:
"Virtue may be assailed, but never hurt;
Surprised by unjust force, but not enthralled.
But evil on itself shall back recoil,
And mix no more with goodness. If this fail,
The pillared firmament is rottenness,
And earth's base built on stubble."
The world is built on the foundation of morality, which is another
name for Universal Spirit, and moral order sustains it. We human
beings, consciously or unconsciously, were, are, and will be at work
to bring the world into perfection. This idea is allegorically
expressed in the Buddhist sutra, which details the advent of
a merciful Buddha named Maitreya in the remote future. At that time,
it says, there will be no steep hills, no filthy places, no epidemic,
no famine, no earthquake, no storm, no war, no revolution, no
bloodshed, no cruelty, and no suffering; the roads will be paved
smoothly, grass and trees always blooming, birds ever singing, men
contented and happy; all sentient beings will worship the Buddha of
Mercy, accept His doctrine, and attain to Enlightenment. This
prophecy will be fulfilled, according to the sutra, 5,670,000,000
years after the death of Shakya Muni. This evidently shows us that
the Mahayanist's aim of life is to bring out man's inborn light of
Buddha-nature to illumine the world, to realize the universal
brotherhood of all sentient beings, to attain to Enlightenment, and
to enjoy peace and joy to which Universal Spirit leads us.
See Nanjo's Catalogue, Nos. 204-209.
Next: Enlightenment Is Beyond Description And Analysis
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