only by love

For silence is not God, nor speaking;
fasting is not God, nor eating;
solitude is not God, nor company;
nor any other pair of opposites.

He is hidden between them,
and cannot be found by anything your soul does,
but only by the love of your heart.

He cannot be known by reason,
he cannot be thought, caught,
or sought by understanding.

But he can be loved and
chosen by the true, loving will of your heart.

 

 ...

To put it more simply, let that mysterious grace move in your spirit as it will and follow wherever it leads you. Let it be the active doer and you the passive receiver. Do not meddle with it, but let it be... Your part is to be as wood to a carpenter or a home to a dweller. Remain blind during this time cutting away all desire to know, for knowledge is a hindrance here. Be content to feel this mysterious grace sweetly awaken in the depths of your spirit. Forget everything...




~ The Cloud of Unknowing

reaching with the grasping mind

The monkey is reaching
For the moon in the water.
Until death overtakes him
He'll never give up.
If he'd let go the branch and
Disappear in the deep pool,
The whole world would shine
With dazzling pureness.

 

 

 

 

 

 ~ Hakuin

 from The Essential Teachings of Hakuin

by Norman Waddell

with thanks to Poetry Chaihana

 

 

An extremely well known and popular Zen master during his later life, Hakuin was a firm believer in bringing the wisdom of Zen to all people. Thanks to his upbringing as a commoner and his many travels around the country, he was able to relate to the rural population, and served as a sort of spiritual father to the people in the areas surrounding Shoin-ji. In fact, he turned down offers to serve in the great monasteries in Kyoto, preferring to stay at Shoin-ji. Most of his instruction to the common people focused on living a morally virtuous life. Showing a surprising broad-mindedness, his ethical teachings drew on elements from Confucianism, ancient Japanese traditions, and traditional Buddhist teachings.

 

from Wikipedia

 

 

no one

No one home.

fallen pine needles

scattered at the door.

~ Zen Master Ryokan

from Sky Above, Great Wind 
The Life and Poetry of Zen Master Ryokan

by Kazuaki Tanahashi

written in my hut on a snowy evening

Reflecting over seventy years,

I am tired of judging right from wrong.

Faint traces of a path trodden in deep night snow.

A stick of incense under the rickety window.

~ Ryokan 

from Sky Above, Great Wind