Buddha Verse
A Webpage
for Buddhist Writings Translated by Gregory Wonderwheel
©
2007-2008-2009-2012
Buddha Verse
A Webpage
for Buddhist Writings Translated by Gregory Wonderwheel
©
2007-2008-2009-2012
Thus
have I heard. The noble Bodhisattva
Avalokiteshvara, at the time of flowing in the course of profound Transcending
Wisdom, saw the world encompassing view, saw the emptiness of each of the five
branches of being, and allayed every suffering.
Here
Sariputra! Form is emptiness; emptiness itself is form; form is not other than
emptiness; emptiness is not other than form; form exactly is emptiness;
emptiness, exactly is form. Sensations, perceptions, complexes, and
consciousness are likewise also like this.
Sariputra! This is the various things’ characteristics
of emptiness: they are not born, are not extinguished, are not stained, are not
pure, do not increase, do not decrease.
Because
of this, within emptiness there are no forms, no sensations, perceptions,
complexes, consciousness; no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, cognition; no forms,
sounds, smells, tastes, touches, things; no eye realm coming to no
cognitive-consciousness realm; no ignorance, no extinction of ignorance, coming
to no ageing and dying, no extinction of ageing and dying; no suffering, cause,
extinction, path; no higher-knowledge likewise no attaining.
Because
there is nowhere to attain, bodhisattvas rely on Transcending Wisdom, and
therefore the heart is without hindrance. Because there is no hindrance there
is no existing fright, and they go far away from topsy-turvy dream conceptions
to ultimate Nirvana.
In
the three times, the various Buddhas rely on Transcending Wisdom and therefore
gain unsurpassed complete perfect enlightenment.
Therefore
know Transcending Wisdom is the great sacred mantra, is the great brilliant
mantra, is the unsurpassed mantra, is the unmatched mantra, and able to
eliminate every suffering. True reality
does not deceive.
Therefore
he articulated the Transcending Wisdom mantra, exactly articulating the manta
declaring:
“Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone completely
beyond, enlightened, amen.”
“Gate, gate, paragate,
parasamgate, bodhi, svaha.”
–
Wisdom Heart Sutra.
The Third Ancestor Great Master Sengcan’s
Inscription on Faith in Mind
三祖僧璨大師信心銘
By Jianzhi Sengcan,
"The 3rd Ancestor" of Chinese Zen (d. 606 C.E)
Translated by Gregory Wonderwheel
[Note:
Line numbers are inserted for ease of comparing translations.]
Inscription on Faith in Mind
Reaching the Way is
without difficulty, only refrain from picking and choosing.
Merely do not hate or love, and penetrate like this to
realization.
With one-thousandth of
a hairsbreadth there is discrepancy, and heaven and earth hang divided.
Desiring to attain the manifest
in front (of you), do not live by going along with or opposing.
To defy or to go along with
is a reciprocal struggle and is a disease of the acting mind.
Not knowing the
profound purpose, one labors in vain thinking of tranquility.
In complete equality
and vast emptiness, there is no lack, there is no excess.
“The Good” causes taking
hold and casting away; that which “uses” is not Suchness.
Do not pursue the
whence of existence; do not dwell in enduring emptiness.
[10] Embrace even oneness, and submerging like this
the self is exhausted.
Stopping moving
comes back to stopping; (such) stopping still is filled with moving.
Only by blocking both sides, would
you rather know oneness.
To banish existence is to drown in
existence; to accord with emptiness is to betray emptiness.
The many words and
many strategies spin around irrelevantly.
By cutting off words and cutting off strategies, there is no place that is
not passed through.
Returning to
the root gains the purpose; following after the light loses the lineage.
Instantly turn
around the light, then victory and retreat are the primary emptiness.
The
transformations of primary emptiness are all because of false views.
[20] Do no employ seeking for truth; it’s only necessary to put an end
to views.
Do not dwell in
dualistic views; scrupulously do not pursue or search for them.
The first time
there exists right and wrong, just like that the heart-mind is lost in
entanglements.
The two exist
because of the One; and likewise do not guard the One.
The One Mind is
not born; the ten thousand things are without fault.
Without fault,
without things, it is not born, it is not mind
When power follows
the environment it is extinguished; when the environment pursues power it is
submerged.
Environment is the
environment because of power; power is power because of the environment.
Desiring to
know both parts, their origin is the emptiness of the One.
The emptiness
of the One is the same as both; equally containing the ten thousand outward
appearances.
[30] Do not view
fine or coarse, or would you rather have one-sided associations?
The essence of
the
The fox doubts
of small views spin quickly and spin slowly.
The seizing of immoderation
necessarily enters the evil paths.
Letting go of the
self’s autonomy, the essence is without going or staying.
Allow the nature
to unite with the Way, and ramble carefree cutting off vexations.
Knotted thoughts
oppose the True and dully sink into the not good.
When “not
good” belabors the spirit, what use are “unfamiliar” and “intimate”?
If you desire
to take hold of the One Vehicle (Ekayana),
do not despise the six dusts.
The six dusts are
not despicable and, besides, are identical with right awakening.
[40] Those who
are wise are non-doing; monkey-minded people are tied up by themselves.
The Dharma is
without an opposing Dharma; the false self loves attachments.
To use the
mind by commanding the mind, how can it not be a great mistake?
Delusion gives
birth to stillness and chaos; awakening is without good and evil.
With two sides
to everything, the false self deliberates.
Dreams and
illusions, flowers in the sky; why labor to grasp them?
Gain and loss,
right and wrong, in one moment release them and withdraw.
If the eyes are
not asleep, the various dreams are by themselves wiped away.
If mind does not
discriminate, the ten thousand things are One Suchness.
In the profound
essence of One Suchness, you look ignorant and forget the secondary causes.
[50] The insight,
that the ten thousand things are equal, returns to and restores autonomy.
By putting an end
to that which “uses,” it is not possible to go in the direction of comparisons.
In stopping moving there is no
moving; in moving stopping there is no stopping.
Pairs are de facto not complete; the One, how does
that exist?
Finally impoverished
to the utmost, do not live by by tracks and rules.
The harmonious mind is equality, where contrivances
all cease.
With fox doubts entirely purified, right faith harmonizes directly.
When everything does not remain, there is no ability to remember.
The clear light
shines by itself and does not belabor the mind’s strength.
Do not
consider the amount or the place; consciousness and feelings are difficult to
measure.
[60] In the Dharma
Realm of True Suchness, there is no other and there is no self.
When it is vital
to quickly be relevant, only speak the non-dual.
In the non-dual
all is the same, without exclusion.
In the ten
directions, those who are wise all enter this lineage.
The lineage does
not hurry or delay for a single moment or ten thousand years.
Without being
present or absent, the ten directions are in front of the eyes.
The utmost small is the same as the great,
so forget cutting off the bounded realms.
The utmost great is the same as the small,
so do not view outside of the borders.
Existence is
exactly nonexistence; nonexistence is exactly existence.
If this is not Suchness,
necessarily it does not need to be guarded.
[70] One is exactly
everything; everything is exactly One.
When only capable
Suchness is, what concerns are not concluded?
Faith in mind is
non-dual; non-dual is faith in mind.
In
spoken language the Way is cut off; it is neither the gone, nor the coming, nor
the present.
AGREEMENT OF MEETING TOGETHER
– CAN TONG QI
(TS’AN-T’UNG-CH’I) (J. SANDOKAI)
By Shitou Xiqian (Shih-t’ou Hsi-ch’ien, J. Sekito Kisen)
(b.700 - d.790)
The mind of the great sage of
the
has been intimately and mutually handed down from west to
east.
A person's roots are sharp or
dull;
the Way has no Northern or Southern ancestors.
The mysterious source is
shining and clean in the light;
the branching streams are
flowing and pouring in the dark.
Grasping at primary phenomena
is bewilderment;
agreeing with Principle is still not enlightenment.
Each and every gate
corresponds to circumstances,
revolving with each other and not revolving with each
other.
Revolving and alternating are mutually entangled,
they
do not rely on remaining in place.
The root of form is
distinguished by substance and appearance;
the primal sound is differentiated as joyful or painful.
High and middle words unite
in the dark,
clean and dirty sentences, in the brightness.
The four great elements
return to their natures
like a child to its mother.
The heat of the fire; the
waving of the wind;
the wet of the water; the solidity of the earth.
The colors of the eye; the
sounds of the ear;
the fragrances of the nose; the salt and sour of the
tongue.
This is the way with each and
every thing;
according to the roots the leaves separate and spread
out.
Roots and branches necessarily
return to the ancestral origin;
venerated and vulgar, these are used in speech.
Right in the middle of the
light there is dark;
don’t use the mutuality of darkness to meet it.
Right in the middle of the
dark there is light;
don’t use the mutuality of the light to see it.
Light and dark are mutual
polarities,
for example, like front and back steps.
The
ten thousand things naturally have their function,
and are regarded in the use and placement of words.
Phenomena exist like the
joining of a box and lid.
Principle responds like the support of the sharp point of
an arrow.
In
receiving words you should meet the ancestors,
and not establish rules by yourself.
If your contacting eye does
not meet the Way,
how do you know the path by using your feet?
Progress is not near or far;
bewilderment causes the distance from mountains and
rivers.
Sincerely, I say to people
who meet the profound depths,
from brightness and shadow, there are none crossed over in vain.
SONG OF THE STRAW THATCHED
HUT
-- 艸庵歌 Caoan Ge (J. Soanka)
By Shitou Xiqian (Shih-t’ou Hsi-ch’ien, J. Sekito Kisen)
(b.700 - d.790)
I tied up the straw thatched hut without precious objects.
With the cooked rice finished, I followed the aim of appearances
and soon slept.
As the first season was accomplished, I saw the thatch was new.
Later when it is worn out, I will
repay my debt and reconstruct the thatch.
The resident hermit -- subdues permanent residency,
And does not categorize the middle space with inside or outside.
A worldly person resides in a place; I do not reside.
A worldly person has affection for a place; I do not have
affection.
Although the thatched hut is small -- it contains the Dharma-realm
(Dharmadhatu).
In a square ten feet, an old man studies liberation of the
essential body.
A bodhisattva of the Supreme Vehicle trusts without doubt.
The middle and inferior hear
it and surely give rise to (a sense of) strangeness.
Asking about this thatched hut -- poor or not poor?
Poor and not poor: the original master is present.
Not dwelling south or north and east or west
A foundation on top of "the firm and stable" therefore becomes superlative.
Green pines below -- light inside of the window.
The
With a patched cape covering the head, the 10,000 affairs come to
rest.
Here and now, this mountain monk already does not meet (anyone).
Residing in this thatched hut
-- ceasing to work on liberation.
Who boastfully spreads out a mat aiming for customers?
Revolve the light and turn back your illumination, then you come
back to the origin point,
Breaking
through to the boundless root of the spirit, you do not face backwards.
Meet the ancestral masters -- be intimate with the teachings.
Tie straw for a thatched hut; do not create backsliding.
Abandon your 100 years (of lifespan), yet be alive vertically and sideways.
Wave a hand, then do, just without doing wrong.
One thousand kinds of words -- ten thousand categories of
liberation,
Are only necessary not to obscure the teaching for long.
If you desire to know the undying person inside the thatched hut,
How is it free from and yet right now covered by the skin bag?
Inscription of Silent
Illumination
Mo Zhao Ming
By Zen Master Hongzhi
Zhengjue of Tiantong (1091-1157)
In silent silence, forgetting
speech.
In bright brightness,
appearing in front.
When reflecting, wide open.
Where embodying, numinous.
The solitary illumination of
the numinous
Illuminates within and
returns to the wondrous.
The moon in the dew, the
starry river,
The snowy pine, the cloudy
mountain peak.
In the dark yet universally
bright.
In hiding yet all the more
evident.
The crane dreams the cold of
mist.
The water contains the depth
of autumn
The vast kalpas are empty
emptiness
Appearances are all together
identical.
The wondrous is preserved at
the place of silence
Achievement is forgotten
within illumination
What is preserved to preserve
the wondrous?
Wide awake breaks up
confusion.
The path of silent
illumination,
The root of freedom from
minutiae.
The unobstructed view is free
from minutiae,
The gold shuttle, the jade
loom.
The straight and the biased
revolve,
The bright and dim are
causally dependent.
Depending on nothing is the
location of capability.
When at the foundation,
turning around mutually.
Drinking the medicine of good
views,
Beating the drum smeared with
poison.
Turning around mutually when
at the foundation
Killing or saving life is on
us.
From inside the gate emerges
the body;
The tip of the branch bears
the fruit.
When only silence is the
perfect speech,
When only illumination is the
universal response,
Response does not fall into
achievement.
Speech does not involve
listening.
The 10,000 phenomena
infinitely connected together
Shine freely and articulate
the Dharma
All that proving clearly.
Each and every one
questioning and answering.
Questioning and answering,
proving clearly,
Precisely mutually
responding.
If within illumination you
lose silence,
Immediately you see
aggressiveness.
Proving clearly, questioning
and answering,
Mutually responding
precisely.
If within silence you lose
illumination
The muddiness becomes
remaining things (dharmas).
The principle of silent
illumination complete,
The lotus opens, the dream
awakens.
The hundred rivers go into
the sea.
The thousand summits face the
highest peak.
Like the goose choosing the
milk,
Like the bee picking the
flowers.
The reaching and attaining of
silent illumination
Conveys our family of the
[Zen] lineage.
The silent illumination of
the family of the [Zen] lineage,
Penetrates to the top,
penetrates to the foundation.
The body of emptiness,
The arms of the mudra.
The one important event from
start to finish,
By the manner of
transformation is 10,000 differences.
Huo Shi presented an
unpolished gem
Xiangru pointed out the flaw.
To suit the capacities [of
people] there are standards.
The great function does not
strive.
Within the palace walls, the
Son of Heaven.
Outside of the barriers, the
General.
The foundation and affair of
our family:
Within the compass, within
the carpenter’s square.
Transmit it going in every
direction.
It is not important to earn
praise.
ZAZEN WASAN
–
"ODE TO SITTING-MEDITATION"
By Hakuin Ekaku Zenji
(b. 12/25/1685 - d.
1/18/1769)
Living beings originally are
Buddha.
It is the same with water and ice.
There is no ice separate from
water;
Outside
of living beings, no Buddha.
Because living beings are
unconscious of the intimate,
They seek it far away. Alas how pitiful!
It is like the examples of
someone sitting in the middle of water
But crying out in thirst; and,
While still being the son of a
millionaire's family,
As a
strange good-for-nothing he loses his way in the countryside living in poverty.
The
causes and conditions of the revolving wheel of the six appearances
Are but
one's own road through the darkness of ignorance;
Walking down dark roads to
dark roads,
Someday you should abandon birth and death.
As to the zen meditation (dhyana-samadhi)
of the Mahayana,
There is just too much to praise.
The several perfections such as charity, morality, and such;
Chanting
Buddha's name, confession and repentance, austerities, and the like;
The many good deeds and various virtuous pilgrimages;
All
these are coming from within it.
Also, a person succeeds by
the merit of a single sitting
To destroy one's immeasurably accumulated crimes.
Where then should the evil
appearances exist?
The
One, who by this Dharma
graciously
Has the
occasion to hear it announced even one time,
Who is a person extolling it
with deep gratitude,
Receives
supreme blessings without limits.
Much more, to personally turn
around to face inward and,
In that
case, directly confirm by one's own nature,
That here, one's own nature is neither more nor less than
no-nature.
And
afterwards leave off from silly debate;
Then opens the gate of the oneness
of cause and effect;
The
Way of not-two and not-three is straightened.
When form is the form of
non-form,
One's going and one's returning are not someplace else.
When thought is the thought
of no-thought,
One's singing and one's dancing are the voice of Dharma.
The sky of boundless Samadhi
is wide!
The moon of the Four Wisdoms' round brilliance is
transparent!
At this time what more should
you want?
Consequently, Nirvana appears before you.
This place is neither more
nor less than the Lotus Country.
As it is, this body is neither more nor less than the Buddha.
Notes on Translations of the Verses
on this page:
Great Transcending Wisdom Heart Sutra
For translation notes on the Heart Sutra see Heart Sutra Page
The
Third Ancestor Great Master Sengcan’s Inscription on Faith in Mind
Notes and translation comments on Faith in Mind Page.
An Agreement for Participating Together
For translation notes and variations see An Agreement for Participating
Together Page
Ode to Sitting Meditation
For my (work in progress) commentary on Hakuin’s “Ode to Sitting Meditation” and various translations see Zazen Wasen Page
Prose
Translations:
Bodhidharma's "Outline of Four Practices and Contemplation"
Koan
Collection Translations:
For my translation of the Wumen Guan see “The Gateless Checkpoint” page.
For my translation (work in progress) of the Bìyán Lù see The Blue Cliff Record page.
Index of Gregory's Buddhist Writings
Gregory’s blog: Turning the Wheel of Wonder
Links to: Top of Page | Wildrose Home Page | Gregory's Page |
This page last edited August 18, 2013.