Buddhism

The Development Of The Southern And Of The Northern School Of Zen
After the death of the Fifth Patriarch the venerable Shang Si...

All The Worlds In Ten Directions Are Buddha's Holy Land
We are to resume this problem in the following chapter. Suff...

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

Origin Of Zen In India
To-day Zen as a living faith can be found in its pure form on...

How To Worship Buddha
The author of Vimalakirtti-nirdeca-sutra well explains our at...

Buddha Is Unnamable
Give a definite name to Deity, He would be no more than what ...

Pessimistic View Of The Ancient Hindus
In addition to this, the new theory of matter has entirely ov...

The Second And The Third Patriarchs
After the death of the First Patriarch, in A.D. 528, Hwui Ko ...

Let Go Of Your Idle Thoughts
A famous Zenist, Mu-go-koku-shi, is said to have replied ...

The Spiritual Attainment Of The Sixth Patriarch
Some time before his death (in 675 A.D.) the Fifth Patriarch ...

An Illusion Concerning Appearance And Reality
To get Enlightened we must next dispel an illusion respecting...

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

Great Men And Nature
All great men, whether they be poets or scientists or religio...

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

The Usual Explanation Of The Canon
An eminent Chinese Buddhist scholar, well known as Ten Dai Da...

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

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

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

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

Zen And Supernatural Power
Yoga claims that various supernatural powers can be acquired ...

The World Is In The Making

Our assertion is far from assuming that life is now complete, and is
in its best state. On the contrary, it is full of defects and
shortcomings. We must not be puffed up with modern civilization,
however great victory it has scored for its side. Beyond all doubt
man is still in his cradle. He often stretches forth his hands to
get at his higher ideal, yet is still satisfied with worthless
playthings. It is too glaring a fact to be overlooked by us that
faith in religion is dying out in the educated circles of society,
that insincerity, cowardice, and double-tongue are found holding high
positions in almost ever community, that Lucrese and Ezzeling are
looking down upon the starving multitude from their luxurious palace,
that Mammon and Bacchus are sometimes preying on their living
victims, that even religion often sides with Contention and piety
takes part in Cruelty, that Anarchy is ever ready to spring on the
crowned beings, that philosophy is disposed to turn the deaf ear to
the petition of peace, while science provides fuel for the fire of
strife.

Was the golden age of man, then, over in the remote past? Is the
doomsday coming instead? Do you bear the trumpet call? Do you feel
the earth tremble? No, absolutely no, the golden age is not passed.
It is yet to come. There are not a few who think that the world is
in completion, and the Creator has finished His work. We witness,
however, that He is still working and working, for actually we hear
His hammer-strokes resounding through heaven above and earth beneath.
Does He not show us new materials for His building? Does He not
give new forms to His design? Does He not surprise us with
novelties, extraordinaries, and mysteries? In a word, the world is
in progress, not in retrogression.

A stream does not run in a straight line. It now turns to the right,
now to the left, now leaps down a precipice, now waters rich fields,
now runs back towards its source; but it is destined to find its
outlet in the ocean. So it is with the stream of life. It now leaps
down the precipice of revolution. Now it enriches the fertile field
of civilization. Now it expands itself into a glassy lake of peace.
Now it forms the dangerous whirlpool of strife. But its course is
always toward the ocean of Enlightenment, in which the gems of
equality and freedom, jewels of truth and beauty, and treasures of
wisdom and bliss can be had.

Next: The Progress And Hope Of Life
Previous: Each Smile A Hymn Each Kindly Word A Prayer

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