5/13 TRANSMISSION of the LIGHT: to Daokai

[Jundo]

Hi,

Make one's own lunch, walk one's own walk, march to the sound of the drum one hears ...

Yet Who is truly cooking, walking, hearing the beat? He [or It or What] never breaks a sweat, yet 'He' never stops rolling up his sleeves, the wood is chopped and the water is boiled. There is someone who does not carry things, even while carrying someone's stick and shoes. Is He a servant in this house, or a master? When is the work all done?

Ordinary rice and tea, just a feast.

Neither a matter of "Zen cliches" nor of staying silent nor of speaking. What do you say?

Do Buddha patriarchs teach anything else apart from their everyday lives? ... [E]ven though old Master Shakyamuni ... and Bodhidharma still lived, yet people should not rely on their power, When you just affirm and authenticate it yourselves, you will become it completely ...

... Once you give way to thought, trying to decide what "Mind" is or what "Buddha" is, you deny yourself and look elsewhere.

... For eons and eons [He/It/What] has supported us and never left us. We have received [His/Its/What's] kindness for a long long time ... [See Him/It/What] and you will utterly repay the vast kindness.

Sorry for the poor presentation. A waste of time.

Cook from 229
Hixon from 212 [I might recommend first reading Hixon this week, who is a good guide, shedding light on some of Keizan's stories]

Gassho, J

[Fuken]

Made the mistake of reading Hixon first...

This may seem odd, but while reading this my mind wandered a bit to a koan about a castrated waterbuffalo.
I found myself concerned that if a waterbuffalo is castrated, of course sead can no longer spread, and while it might be tame, some of its strength may be lost.

[Rimon]

That original man is always (with) me making breakfast, meditating, typing in the computer. But, alas, when I look for him, He is gone. Wish I could leave so easily too...

Gassho

Rimon

[AlanLa]

We can never live up to this lineage!
We can never live up to this lineage if we compare ourselves to this lineage!
Comparing myself to the ancestors that populate this lineage makes me feel small and unworthy!
BUT WAIT...
I need to live this lineage, not live up to it!
I need to make this lineage my own, not the ancestors'!
I can be a humble servant to all, and thus also worthy of the ancestors' lineage!

[Jundo]

We can never live up to this lineage!
We can never live up to this lineage if we compare ourselves to this lineage!
Comparing myself to the ancestors that populate this lineage makes me feel small and unworthy!
BUT WAIT...
I need to live this lineage, not live up to it!
I need to make this lineage my own, not the ancestors'!
I can be a humble servant to all, and thus also worthy of the ancestors' lineage!

Lovely!

Gassho, J

[Shokai]

I like it too!! :)

[Rich]

A cool wind blows
the birds still sing
The thinker returns
From his journey
To the thusness
Of not knowing

[Heisoku]

Before we start any aikido course with the head sensei we meditate for a short while. Before we open our eyes he always recites; 'We thank the universe for everything it has given us up to now and for all it will continue to give us from now'.
We need to thank our lineage in a similar manner for bringing us 'the Way' and for giving us the opportunity of practising 'the Way'.
Thank you Alan for your insight.

[Rimon]

Very powerful Alan

Deep gassho

Rimon

[Shogen]

Attention!

Gassho, Shogen

[Zen_Fire]

Ordinary rice and tea, just a feast...

Sorry for the poor presentation. A waste of time...


Thank you for wasting my time in such precious manner. Please, feel welcome to waste my time over and over again.

Gassho,

Sunyatta

[Zen_Fire]

From Claery:

"When one person is benevolent, myriad people naturally benefit from it."

"Even if Shakyamuni Buddha were to appear in the world, and even if great master Bodhidharma were still alive, people shouldn't rely on their power - one can only attain enlightenment through one's own acceptance and personal realization."

From HIxon:

"Spiritual completeness is self-authenticating free from any obligatory reference to master or tradition."

"at the center f the Sun, there is neither night nor day."

"If you think about mind-essence or Buddha nature, you begin to look elsewhere and ignore your own naked being."

"A wild tiger prowling through the marketplace...no distinction between remote mountain and busy city."

Gassho,

Sunyatta

[Shohei]

We can never live up to this lineage!
We can never live up to this lineage if we compare ourselves to this lineage!
Comparing myself to the ancestors that populate this lineage makes me feel small and unworthy!
BUT WAIT...
I need to live this lineage, not live up to it!
I need to make this lineage my own, not the ancestors'!
I can be a humble servant to all, and thus also worthy of the ancestors' lineage!

Gassho!

Tag, you were always it!

Gassho
Shohei

[AlanLa]

Tag the lineage, not me. Forget that we/you/it are the same.

People seem to like my post you quote here. But, strangely, it was my second thought and post. My first was longer and much crappier, and so I deleted it before anyone saw it, and so the quote is the clover that is the result of that earlier crap.

[Shohei]

hehe yeah clover grows good in crap. Crap is not good or bad it is just what it is and needed, by times!

gassho
Shohei

[AlanLa]

I find the Aitken strain of clover particularly strong, as these things go, at least. He/it/we/the lineage is an aspiration even as we make it exist as you read this.

!

[BrianW]

I need to live this lineage, not live up to it!
I need to make this lineage my own, not the ancestors'!

Yeah....this is were its at.....How often we get caught up in "living up to" not "living this"....

Gassho,
BrianW/Jisen