Vinaya master Yuan asked Great Pearl, “When you practice the Way, do you use a special skill?”
Great Pearl said, “I do.”
Yuan asked, “What is it?”
Great Pearl said, “ When I’m hungry I eat. When I get sleepy I sleep.”
Yuan said, “Everyone does these things. Do they not have the same skill as you?”
Great Pearl said, “They do not have the same skill.”
Yuan said, “Why is it not the same?
If you don’t want to suffer, then work with an empty mind. Then work will be fun and the results will be excellent.
Small Buddha on show at Agatha Christie’s old house near Totnes, Devon.
If buddha-dharma is the self, why do we have to study from others? Why do we have to practise in order to change the self? Why do we have to practise? We already have buddha-nature. We can do whatever we want. What is wrong with this kind of view? That is the question. Dogen’s reply is as follows:…
The real part 5 of Zazenshin. Sorry for the slip up last time.
‘Other people may offer a solution to our problems, but it is usually a solution to their problems, to something a bit different, and if it helps us, it is usually by luck.’
The origin of Buddha statues of this style is the figure of Prince Siddhartha in contemplation pondering the four phases of life (birth, old age, sickness, and death). Established first in India, the Pensive Bodhisattva was made in countless numbers in China but not till it came to Korea…
It takes determination to trust this kind of awareness, however, because one’s conditioning tends always to go towards being judgemental and to think in terms of, ‘I shouldn’t feel like this! I don’t know what to do! How should I meditate?’ Whatever you are feeling, however, even if you feel confused about everything, just recognize it ― ‘Confusion is like this’…
A monk asked, “What is the essential meaning of Buddhism?” Mazu said, “What is the meaning of this moment?”
Buddhism now 