When heaven gave birth to me, I also gave birth to it.
1
Not everything exists for me,
nor do I exist for everything,
but rather, there seems to be a “me,” and there seems to be an existence,
and they meet in a dream.
2
Nothing belongs to me,
and I do not belong to anything,
because what can belong and who can be belonged to,
are empty flowers facing empty shadows.
3
I see the clouds in the sky,
I hear the thunder in the rain,
nothing is for anyone,
it’s just that they rise together in love, creating a dream.
4
I was not born before heaven,
nor was I born after heaven;
when heaven gave birth to me, I also gave birth to it.
5
The original face has neither face nor eyes,
and that “nothing” is also a kind of nothing in a dream;
nothing is something real,
because nothing can be born outside of dreams.
6
Life and death are not a spinning coin;
rather, there has never been a tangible coin.
Life and death are not an expense or circulation;
they are both deeply misunderstood dreams.
7
When I say there is no death,
it does not mean death does not exist;
rather, it means “I” do not exist.
8
The true nature of all phenomena
is not this exists while that does not; this does not exist while that does;
but rather, this exists so that one exists; this does not exist so that one does not.
It is neither this diminishes while that increases; nor increases or decreases.
9
Observing the sky has both black and white;
observing enlightenment has neither brightness nor darkness;
observing all things have both yin and yang;
observing the nature of dharma is neither yin nor yang.
10
There are no Buddhas in the world,
because Buddhas do not self-Buddha;
life is not a play,
because one is one, two is two.
11
Pilgrimage is not about going somewhere,
but about the disappearance of the pilgrim and the place being pilgrimed.
Walking barefoot to India or kneeling at Wutai Mountain,
that is not pilgrimage, but worship.
12
Conscience is right knowledge; right knowledge is right view;
right view is sacred view; sacred view is Buddha’s view.
Those who do not see what Buddha sees are all deluded views.
Deluded views are neither right knowledge nor have conscience.
13
Everything is a flower of the universe;
humans are one branch of rose among them;
it is dedicated to oneself.
14
Recognizing there is no “I,”
nor “what I possess,”
human freedom reaches its maximum extent. </ p>
15
The Grim Reaper can attack the mightiest warrior,
yet cannot attack someone who has none;
those who realize no-self have safely reached their maximum coefficient. </ p>
16
It’s not that Death cannot seize me,
but that heaven never created someone capable of dying.
What does it mean to escape reincarnation, to understand life and death?
Realizing this experience itself suffices. </ p>
17
In the universe, laws seem present yet seek absence;
this indeed represents “wonderful” law.
To see such wonderful law
means seeing the true Lotus Sutra of wonderful law. </ p>
18
No one truly dies; therefore I say Yama’s hall is empty;
King Yama never deals with matters of the dead,
only with those who live. </ p>
19
Living out non-birth—this constitutes true life.
If you fear death,
then life has never truly blossomed. </ p>
20
A thousand kalpas of cultivation only for one moment of clarity;
it’s not you wanting cultivation; it’s cultivation wanting you;
life holds so much terror and pain—will you avoid cultivation?
Unless numbness or evasion prevails, you must inevitably fall into practice. </ p>
21
In practice, recognizing absurdity at your moment of awakening—
after three thousand years blooms Utpala flower!
Recognizing your foolishness brings wisdom and sweetness within foolishness itself. </ p>
22
To prove oneself isn’t foolish,
we often do many foolish things.
When one day you recognize your own foolishness—
past, present, future foolishness ends here. </ p >
23
We are all blind with our eyes open—
truth lies before us yet we search across oceans; tired from walking, tired from searching—when we stop, we find what we sought sitting beneath us. </ P >
Selfhood deceives us, always fearing exposure; that’s why it always employs tricks, which explains why you often feel uneasy and chaotic.
Those unable to take charge wish they could, worrying begins; it’s false reality masquerading as truth, fear initiates; this precisely describes what our sneaky or pretentious selves engage in.
The universe encompasses your realm of understanding; outside your understanding lies no universe; there has never been a universe separate from you; without you, the universe ceases being your flower.
Understanding the universe isn’t necessary, but due to confusion you’ve embarked on this journey; any understanding resembles an ant circling an eggshell, returning from where you started back to where you began.
Sooner or later you’ll recognize all people are your reflections, appearing in your world for just one purpose: that’s recognizing yourself.
If you possess a great body, it differs little from the universe; if you have many reflections, they differ little from those around you.
That which doesn’t exist bears many names; what truly exists remains nameless.
The simplest things prove most useful, what costs least proves most precious; when we turn back discovering this, gratitude blooms like rapeseed flowers!
People often admire complexity, dismissing simplicity; thus God’s most precious gifts brush past us countless times!
Language serves as a brush— some use it for painting, others use it pointing towards the moon; those whose eyes fall into paintings cannot see the moon.
The language of truth acts as seeds— your experience serves as soil, sunlight, water; without soil, sunlight or water, seeds of truth cannot blossom.
Those who gaze up at Mount Jomolungma obsessively fail to notice solid ground beneath their feet; yet beneath their feet lies where they grow daily— what’s most precious resides within ordinary places unnoticed by fools.
Truth’s language speaks incomprehensibly even if understood by others— thus truth’s words resemble bridges: useful only for those genuinely wishing cross over towards their destination.
The so-called birth of “I” arises when conditions give rise thoughts identifying as “I,” which occurs instantly yet remains illusory— upon noticing this point: Buddha descends!
by Taiwan Fearless Tathagata Ya Great Perfection Zen Center </ P >