All The Worlds In Ten Directions Are Buddha's Holy Land
: LIFEWe are to resume this problem in the following chapter. Suffice it
to say for the present it is the law of Universal Life that
manifoldness is in unity, and unity is in manifoldness; difference is
in agreement, and agreement in difference; confliction is in harmony,
and harmony in confliction; parts are in the whole, and the whole is
in parts; constancy is in change, and change in constancy; good is in
bad, and bad in
disintegration is in integration; peace is in disturbance, and
disturbance in peace. We can find something celestial among the
earthly. We can notice something glorious in the midst of the base
and degenerated.
'There are nettles everywhere, but are not smooth, green grasses more
common still?' Can you recognize something awe-inspiring in the rise
and fall of nations? Can you not recognize something undisturbed and
peaceful among disturbance and trouble? Has not even grass some
meaning? Does not even a stone tell the mystery of Life? Does not
the immutable law of good sway over human affairs after all, as
Tennyson says-
I can but trust that good shall fall
At last-far off-at last, to all.
Has not each of us a light within him, whatever degrees of lustre
there may be? Was Washington in the wrong when he said: Labour to
keep alive in your heart that little spark of celestial fire called
conscience.
We are sure that we can realize the celestial bliss in this very
world, if we keep alive the Enlightened Consciousness, of which
Bodhidharma and his followers showed the example. 'All the worlds in
ten directions are Buddha's Holy Lands!' That Land of Bliss and
Glory exists above us, under us, around us, within us, without us, if
we open our eyes to see. 'Nirvana is in life itself,' if we enjoy it
with admiration and love. Life and death are the life of Buddha,
says Do-gen. Everywhere the Elysian gates stand open, if we do not
shut them up by ourselves. Shall we starve ourselves refusing to
accept the rich bounty which the Blessed Life offers to us? Shall we
perish in the darkness of scepticism, shutting our eyes to the light
of Tathagata? Shall we suffer from innumerable pains in the
self-created hell where remorse, jealousy, and hatred feed the fire
of anger? Let us pray to Buddha, not in word only, but in the deed
of generosity and tolerance, in the character noble and loving, and
in the personality sublime and good. Let us pray to Buddha to save
us from the hell of greed and folly, to deliver us from the thraldom
of temptation. Let us 'enter the Holy of Holies in admiration and
wonder.'
More
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A Sutra Equal In Size To The Whole World
The holy writ that Zen masters admire is not one of parchment nor of palm-leaves, nor in black and white, but one written in heart and mind. On one occasion a King of Eastern India invited the venerable Prajnyatara, the teacher of Bodhidharma, and ... All The Worlds In Ten Directions Are Buddha's Holy Land
We are to resume this problem in the following chapter. Suffice it to say for the present it is the law of Universal Life that manifoldness is in unity, and unity is in manifoldness; difference is in agreement, and agreement in difference; conflict... An Illusion Concerning Appearance And Reality
To get Enlightened we must next dispel an illusion respecting appearance and reality. According. to certain religionists, all the phenomena of the universe are to succumb to change. Worldly things one and all are evanescent. They are nought in th... Bodhidharma And His Successor The Second Patriarch
China was not, however, an uncultivated[FN#29] land for the seed of Zen--nay, there had been many practisers of Zen before Bodhidharma. [FN#29] The translation of Hinayana Zen sutras first paved the way for our faith. Fourteen Zen sutras, incl... Bodhidharma And The Emperor Wu
No sooner had Bodhidharma landed at Kwang Cheu in Southern China than he was invited by the Emperor[FN#24] Wu, who was an enthusiastic Buddhist and good scholar, to proceed to his capital of Chin Liang. When he was received in audience, His Majesty ... Bodhidharma's Disciples And The Transmission Of The Law[fn#31]
[FN#31] For details, see Chwen Tang Luh and Den Ka Roku, by Kei Zan. As for the life of Bodhidharma, Dr. B. Matsumoto's 'A Life of Bodhidharma' may well be recommended to the reader. Bodhidharma's labour of nine years in China resulted in th... Buddha Dwelling In The Individual Mind
Enlightened Consciousness in the individual mind acquires for its possessor, not a relative knowledge of things as his intellect does, but the profoundest insight in reference to universal brotherhood of all beings, and enables him to understand the... Buddha Is Unnamable
Give a definite name to Deity, He would be no more than what the name implies. The Deity under the name of Brahman necessarily differs from the Being under the appellation of Jehovah, just as the Hindu differs from the Jew. In like manner the Bein... Buddha The Universal Life
Zen conceives Buddha as a Being, who moves, stirs, inspires, enlivens, and vitalizes everything. Accordingly, we may call Him the Universal Life in the sense that He is the source of all lives in the universe. This Universal Life, according to Zen... 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 ... Calmness Of Mind
The Yogi breathing above mentioned is fit rather for physical exercise than for mental balance, and it will be beneficial if you take that exercise before or after Meditation. Japanese masters mostly bold it very important to push forward. The low... Change As Seen By Zen
Zen, like Hinayanism, does not deny the doctrine of Transience, but it has come to a view diametrically opposite to that of the Hindus. Transience for Zen simply means change. It is a form in which life manifests itself. Where there is life there ... Decline Of Zen
The blooming prosperity of Zen was over towards the end of the Southern Sung dynasty (1127-1279), when it began to fade, not being bitten by the frost of oppression from without, but being weakened by rottenness within. As early as the Sung dynasty... Difficulties Are No Match For The Optimist
How can we suppose that we, the children of Buddha, are put at the mercy of petty troubles, or intended to be crushed by obstacles? Are we not endowed with inner force to fight successfully against obstacles and difficulties, and to wrest trophies ... Do Thy Best And Leave The Rest To Providence
There is another point of view which enables us to enjoy life. It is simply this, that everything is placed in the condition best for itself, as it is the sum total of the consequences of its actions and reactions since the dawn of time. Take, for... Each Smile A Hymn Each Kindly Word A Prayer
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[... Enlightened Consciousness
In addition to these considerations, which mainly depend on indirect experience, we can have direct experience of life within us. In the first place, we experience that our life is not a bare mechanical motion or change, but is a spiritual, purposi... Enlightened Consciousness Is Not An Intellectual Insight
Enlightened Consciousness is not a bare intellectual insight, for it is full of beautiful emotions. It loves, caresses, embraces, and at the same time esteems all beings, being ever merciful to them. It has no enemies to conquer, no evil to fight ... Enlightenment Implies An Insight Into The Nature Of Self
We cannot pass over, however, this weighty problem without saying a word. We shall try in this chapter to present Enlightenment before the reader in a roundabout way, just as the painter gives the fragmentary sketches of a beautiful city, being una... Enlightenment Is Beyond Description And Analysis
In the foregoing chapters we have had several occasions to refer to the central problem of Zen or Enlightenment, whose content it is futile to attempt to explain or analyze. We must not explain or analyze it, because by doing so we cannot but misle... Epicureanism And Life
There are a good many people always buoyant in spirit and mirthful in appearance as if born optimists. There are also no fewer persons constantly crestfallen and gloomy as if born pessimists. The former, however, may lose their buoyancy and sink d... Everything Is Living According To Zen
Everything alive has a strong innate tendency to preserve itself, to assert itself, to push itself forward, and to act on its environment, consciously or unconsciously. The innate, strong tendency of the living is an undeveloped, but fundamental, n... Flight Of The Sixth Patriarch
On the following morning the news of what had happened during the night flew from mouth to mouth, and some of the enraged brothers attempted to pursue the worthy fugitive. The foremost among them, Hwui Ming (E-myo), overtook the Sixth Patriarch at ... Great Men And Nature
All great men, whether they be poets or scientists or religious men or philosophers, are not mere readers of books, but the perusers of Nature. Men of erudition are often lexicons in flesh and blood, but men of genius read between the lines in the ... Hinayanism And Its Doctrine
The doctrine of Transience was the first entrance gate of Hinayanism. Transience never fails to deprive us of what is dear and near to us. It disappoints us in our expectation and hope. It brings out grief, fear, anguish, and lamentation. It spr... How To Worship Buddha
The author of Vimalakirtti-nirdeca-sutra well explains our attitude towards Buddha when he says: We ask Buddha for nothing. We ask Dharma for nothing. We ask Samgha for nothing. Nothing we ask of Buddha. No worldly success, no rewards in the fut... Idealism Is A Potent Medicine For Self-created Mental Disease
In so far as Buddhist idealism refers to the world of sense, in so far as it does not assume that to to be known is identical with to be, in so far as it does not assert that the phenomenal universe is a dream and a vision, we may admit it as true. ... Idealistic Scepticism Concerning Objective Reality
But extreme Idealism identifies 'to be' with 'to be known,' and assumes all phenomena to be ideas as illustrated in Mahayana-vidyamatra-siddhi-tridaca-castra[FN#199] and Vidyamatra-vincati-castra,[FN#200] by Vasubandhu. Then it necessarily parts c... Idealistic Scepticism Concerning Religion And Morality
Similarly, it is the case with religion and morality. If we admit extreme idealism as true, there can be nothing objectively real. God is little more than a mental image. He must be a creature of mind instead of a Creator. He has no objective re... Introduction Of Zen Into China By Bodhidharma
An epoch-making event took place in the Buddhist history of China by Bodhidharma's coming over from Southern India to that country in about A.D. 520.[FN#23] It was the introduction, not of the dead scriptures, as was repeatedly done before him, but... Let Go Of Your Idle Thoughts
[FN#263] A famous Zenist, Mu-go-koku-shi, is said to have replied to every questioner, saying: Let go of your idle thoughts. A Brahmin, having troubled himself a long while with reference to the problem of life and of the world, ... Life And Change
A peculiar phase of life is change which appears in the form of growth and decay. Nobody can deny the transitoriness of life. One of our friends humorously observed: Everything in the world may be doubtful to you, but it can never be doubted that ... Life And Change
Transformation and change are the essential features of life; life is not transformation nor change itself, as Bergson seems to assume. It is something which comes under our observation through transformation and change. There are, among Buddhists... Life Change And Hope
The doctrine of Transcience never drives us to the pessimistic view of life. On the contrary, it gives us an inexhaustible source of pleasure and hope. Let us ask you: Are you satisfied with the present state of things? Do you not sympathize with... Life Consists In Conflict
Life consists in conflict. So long as man remains a social animal he cannot live in isolation. All individual hopes and aspirations depend on society. Society is reflected in the individual, and the individual in society. In spite of this, his i... Life In The Concrete
Life in the concrete, which we are living, greatly differs from life in the abstract, which exists only in the class-room. It is not eternal; it is fleeting; it is full of anxieties, pains, struggles, brutalities, disappointments, and calamities. ... Man Is Bad-natured According To Siun Tsz
The weaknesses of Mencius's theory are fully exposed by another diametrically opposed theory propounded by Siun Tsz (Jun-shi) and his followers. 'Man is bad-natured,' says Siun Tsz, 'since he has inborn lust, appetite, and desire for wealth....