DAI−O KOKUSHI "ON ZEN"
There is a reality even prior to heaven and earth; Indeed, it has no form, much less a name; Eyes fail to see it; It has no voice for ears to detect; To call it Mind or Buddha violates its nature, For it then becomes like a visionary flower in the air;
It is not Mind, nor Buddha; Absolutely quiet, and yet illuminating in a mysterious way, It allows itself to be perceived only by the clear−eyed. It is Dharma truly beyond form and sound; It is Tao having nothing to do with words.
Wishing to entice the blind, The Buddha has playfully let words escape his golden mouth; Heaven and earth are ever since filled with entangling briars. O my good worthy friends gathered here, If you desire to listen to the thunderous voice of the Dharma, Exhaust your words, empty your thoughts, For then you may come to recognize this One Essence. Says Hui the Brother, "The Buddha's Dharma Is not to be given up to mere human sentiments."
Those who enter the gate of Buddhism should first of all cherish a firm faith in the dignity and respectability of monkhood, for it is the path leading them away from poverty and humbleness. Its dignity is that of the sonship of the Dharmaraja of the triple world; no princely dignity which extends only over a limited area of the earth compares with it. Its respectability is that of the fatherhood of all sentient beings; no parental respectability belonging Only to the head of a little family group equals it. When the monk finds himself in this position of dignity and respectability, living in the rock−cave of the Dharma where he enjoys the greatest happiness of a spiritual life, under the blissful protection of all the guardian gods of the Triple Treasure, is there any form of happiness that can surpass his?
The shaven head and the dyed garment are the noble symbols of Bodhisattvahood; the temple−buildings with all their ornamental fixtures are the honorific emblems of Buddhist virtue. They have nothing to do with mere decorative effects.
That the monk, now taking on himself these forms of dignity and respectability, is the recipient of all kinds of offerings from his followers; that he is quietly allowed to pursue his study of the Truth, not troubling himself with worldly labours and occupations−this is indeed due to the loving thoughts of Buddhas and Fathers. If the monk fails in this life to cross the stream of birth−and−death, when does expect to requite all the kindly feelings bestowed upon him by his predecessors? We are ever liable as time goes on miss opportunities; let the monk, therefore, be always on e watch not to pass his days idly.
The one path leading up to the highest peak is the mysterious orthodox line of transmission established by Buddhas and Fathers, and to walk along this road is the essence of appreciating what they have done for us. When the monk fails to discipline himself along this road, he thereby departs from the dignity and respectability of monk−hood, laying himself down in the slums of poverty and misery.
As I grow older I feel this to be my greatest regret, and, O monks, I have never been tired day and night of giving you strong admonitions on this point. Now, on the eve of my departure, my heart lingers with you, and my sincerest prayer is that you are never found lacking in the virtue of the monkish dignity and respectability, and that you ever be mindful of what properly belongs to monkhood. Pray, pray, 'be mindful of this, O monks!
This is the motherly advice of Nampo; old monk−mendicant of Kencho Monastery:
O you, monks, who are in this mountain monastery, remember that you are gathered here for the sake of religion and not for the sake of clothes and food. As long as you have shoulders [that is, the body], you will have clothes to wear, and as long as you have a mouth, you will have food to eat. Be ever mindful, throughout the twelve hours of the day, to apply yourselves to the study of the Unthinkable. Time passes like an arrow, never let your minds be disturbed by worldly cares. Ever, ever be on the look−out. After my departure, some of you may preside over five temples in prosperous conditions, with towers and halls and holy books all decorated in gold and silver, and devotees may noisily crowd into the grounds; some may pass hours in reading the sutras and reciting the dharanis, and sitting long in contemplation may not give themselves up to sleep; they may, eating once a day and observing the fastdays, and, throughout the six periods of the day, practise all the religious deeds. Even when they are thus devoted to the cause, if their thoughts are not really dwelling on the mysterious and untransmissible Way of the Buddhas and Fathers, they may yet come to ignore the law o moral causation, ending in a complete downfall of the true religion. All such belong to the family of evil spirits; however long my departure from the world may be, they are not to be called my descendants. Let, however, there be just one individual, who may be living in the wilderness in a hut thatched with one bundle of straw and passing his days by eating the roots of wild herbs cooked in a pot with broken legs; but if he single−mindedly applies himself to the study of his own [spiritual] affairs, he is the very one who has a daily interview with me and knows how to be grateful for his life. Who should ever despise such a one? O monks, be diligent, be diligent.
DAITO KOKUSHI'S LAST POEM
Buddhas and Fathers cut to pieces−−
The sword is ever kept sharpened!
Where the wheel turns,
The void gnashes its teeth.
