On one occasion Hyakujo said, ”If we are attached to a viewpoint that we are naturally the Buddhas and that we are in Zen Buddhism because we are originally pure and enlightened, we are among non-Buddhists who deny causality.” At … Continued
Kitano Gempo, abbot of Eihei temple, was ninety-two years old when he passed away in the year 1933. He endeavored his whole life not to be attached to anything. As a wandering mendicant when he was twenty he happened to … Continued
Kassan and Jozan were going along, talking together, when Jozan said, ”if, within life-and-death, there were no Buddha, there would be no life-and death.” Kassan said, ”if the Buddha were within life-and-death, there would be no delusion with regard to life-and-death.” They argued back … Continued
Three men went for a morning walk. They saw a Buddhist monk standing on the hill, and having nothing to do they just started discussing what that fellow was doing. One said, ”As far as I can see from here, he is … Continued
This is a Zen beautiful story. Haikyu said, ”illusion obstructs the mind; how can illusion be got rid of?” Obaku said, ”creating illusion, getting rid of illusion – both these are illusion, for illusion has no root; it appears by reason … Continued