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Thiền là gì ?
Cá nhỏ hỏi cá lớn:
Con thường nghe người ta nói về biển.
Cá lớn à...
Nhưng biển là gì vậy ?
Biển là thứ đang bao bọc xung quanh con.
Tại sao con không thấy ?
Con sống, con bơi và tồn tại ở trong biển.
Biển hiện có ở trong và ngoài thân con.
Biển sinh ra con và khi chết con trở về với biển.
Biển bao quanh con như da bao bọc thân con.
Khổng Tử nói: "Loài cá hay quên mình sống ở sông, ở hồ
Người ta quên mình sống trong Đạo Lý".
Ta đang sống trong bể Thiền nhưng không biết Thiền là gì?
Ta hãy khảo sát sâu hơn về Thiền.
Thế nào ?
Sự giác ngộ của con sóng.
Sóng nhỏ à, hãy cẩn thận...
Thật là chán quá.
Các con sóng khác thì rất lớn trong khi tôi lại bé nhỏ.
Họ mạnh mẽ
còn tôi yếu ớt...
Bởi vì anh chưa thấy rõ "bản lai diện mục"
nên anh buồn rầu.
Tôi không phải là sóng ? Thế tôi là gì ?
Sóng chỉ là hình thức tạm thời của anh
Anh thật ra là nước !
Nước ?
Khi anh nhận chân ra được bản thể là nước,
anh sẽ không còn thắc mắc sao mình là con sóng nhỏ,
và sẽ hết buồn phiền.
À, tôi hiểu rồi. Anh là tôi, tôi là anh, chúng ta cùng bản thể.
Con người thường ích kỉ,
chỉ nghĩ đến cái "ta" ,
rồi tự so sánh với người khác,
khi thấy thua kém,
sinh ra đau khổ.
Thật ra,
bản thể con người là một phần của thiên nhiên.
Hãy nghĩ xem có phải không ?
Một chén trà Thiền.
Một vị giáo sư
tới thăm Thiền Sư Nan-in để tham vấn về Thiền.
Ông được Thiền Sư mời dùng trà.
Thiền Sư cứ tiếp tục rót trà vào chén,
mặc dù đã tràn đầy ra ngoài.
Sư Phụ, chén trà đầy tràn rồi.
Xin đừng rót nữa !
Ông giống như cái chén này,
đầy ắp những thành kiến và tư tưởng.
Ta không thể chỉ bảo về Thiền cho ông,
trừ phi ông cạn chén trà của ông trước !
Những người đầy thành kiến...
thì không thể nghe ra điều hay từ kẻ khác.
Trong những cuộc đàm thoại,
ta thường hay có thành kiến,
do đó, ta không bao giờ nghe được những điều hữu lí,
mà chỉ biết có ý kiến riêng của mình thôi. Mọi khác biệt với tư tưởng của ta đều là phi lí.
Rót trà tiếp nào.
Vâng.
Result of enlightenment.
Since olden times, many people have left their homes and families
to enter the door of Buddhism and practice Zen.
They do not mind devoting so much energy to inquiry and contemplation,
And what do they gain from it?
If such a question is put to the Zen masters,
they will invariably answer,
Nothingness.
Once a person has stopped discrimination, banished delusion,
and ended the tricks of thought,
he will be full of inner peace
and there is naturally the state of nothingness.
Lấy Tâm truyền Tâm
Ngày xưa, tại hội Linh Sơn,
đông đủ tứ chúng hội họp, để nghe Đức Phật Thích Ca Mâu Ni thuyết giảng.
Bỗng nhiên, Đức Phật đưa ra một nhánh hoa,
rồi quan sát phản ứng của các đệ tử,
không hiểu ý của Đức Phật,
các đệ tử đều ngồi im lặng.
Duy chỉ có ngài Ma-Ha Ca Diếp tủm tỉm cười.
Nay ta có Chánh pháp nhãn tạng,
niết bàn diệu tâm,
thực tướng vô tướng, trực chỉ chân tâm.
Pháp Môn huyền diệu này,
không lập văn tự, truyền ngoài kinh giáo.
Những mê chấp không thể đạt tới giác ngộ,
phải về với chính mình thì mới tỏ ngộ.
Vừa rồi, Ma-ha Ca Diếp đã tỏ ngộ,
do đó ta truyền tâm ấn Thiền cho ông Ca Diếp.
"Kiến sắc minh tâm", là thấy sắc mà ngộ được tâm của mình.
Đức Phật đưa cành hoa sen không phải để nói về hoa sen,
Ngài Ca Diếp nhân nhìn thấy hoa sen
mà biết được mình có cái chưa bao giờ sanh diệt nên ngài mỉm cười.
An lạc với hiện tại
Đời người sống được bao lâu?
Bảy mươi.
Sai.
Bốn mươi ?
Không đúng !
Ba mươi ?
Sai.
Vậy thì đời người được bao lâu ?
Đời chỉ dài bằng một cái hơi thở.
Đừng bao giờ nghĩ đến quá khứ hay tương lai.
Hãy sống với hiện tại.
Dù ở đâu hay trong hoàn cảnh nào
ta hãy vui,
với cái đẹp hiện hữu chung quanh ta !
Sào tre Ca Diếp
Thế Tôn trong Pháp Hội núi Linh Thứu, đã mang y bát truyền cho Ca Diếp.
Anan hỏi Ca Diếp,
Thế Tôn ngoài việc truyền Ca Sa,
còn truyền gì nữa không ?
Anan !
Dạ ?
Trời tối rồi,
thu sào tre ngoài trước chùa vào !
Chúng ta nên nhớ một điều,
Bình Thường Tâm là Đạo.
Đừng tìm Phật Lý ở thế giới hư vô phiêu diêu nào hết.
Chỉ cần tỉnh táo chú ý
các điều nhỏ trong cuộc sống là được .
Đưa cô gái qua sông.
Hòa Thượng Hằng Sơn và một Hòa Thượng trẻ...
trên đường gặp một cô gái đẹp không qua được một dòng sông.
Để ta bồng cô qua sông.
Xin cám ơn quý Thầy !
Tạm biệt !
Hai người tiếp tục hành trình tới chiều.
Chúng ta là người tu hành nên lánh xa nữ giới.
Tại sao Sư Huynh không tránh ?
Ủa ! Sư Đệ ý nói về cô gái buổi sáng nay ấy à ?
Ta sớm đã đặt cô ta xuống bờ sông rồi. Sư Đệ hãy còn bồng cô ấy sao ?
Vị Sư Huynh bồng cô gái qua sông...
với lòng vị tha không phân biệt nam nữ, không ẩn ý.
Dĩ nhiên là sẽ không vướng mắc.
Vị Sư Đệ là người không bồng cô gái nhưng lòng lại đầy vấn vương.
Cửa Thiên Đường
Có một vị Tướng Quân
Hỏi Đạo với Thiền Sư Bạch Ẩn :
Thiên Đường Địa Ngục có thật không Sư Phụ ?
Con Thật sự muốn biết Thiên Đường và Địa Ngục có thật hay không.
Con làm nghề gì ?
Con là một Tướng Quân.
Ha ha, một thằng ngu như con mà cũng làm Tướng Quân sao ?
Tên Đồ Tể giống hơn.
Cái gì ? Ta sẽ giết chết Ông !
Đó ! Đó chính là cửa Địa Ngục đó !
Xin lỗi... Xin bỏ qua cho con, con không tự chủ...
Đây là lối lên Thiên Đường đó.
Thiên Đường Địa Ngục không phải sau khi chết mới có,
mà là trong một niệm ác ở hiện tại !
Tốt xấu đều tại Tâm mà ra,
Sẽ tùy thời mở cửa Thiên Đường Địa Ngục.
Đại quan ngốc
Hai vị Thiền Sư Đại Ngu và Ngu Đường...
được mời đến gặp một vị đại quan rất muốn học Thiền.
Con Trời sinh thông minh...
có thể học Thiền.
Nói bừa! Nó ngốc nghếch ở địa vị cao thì được,
Nhưng không thể hiểu Thiền !
Sau khi nghe cao kiến của hai vị,
Con biết nên làm thế nào rồi.
Kết quả là, vị đại quan đó không xây miếu cho Ngu Đường,
mà tạo một tòa cho Đại Ngu,
và theo ông ta học Thiền.
Đại Ngu không vì đối tượng là một quan lớn
chỉ thẳng ra sự thật,
kết quả là được trọng dụng.
Không bị vẻ bề ngoài mê hoặc,
trong lòng không có cảnh Nhị Nguyên Thiện Ác,
Mới có thể tiếp cận Thiền.
Ta không vào Địa Ngục thì ai vào ?
Có một người hỏi một vị Thiền Sư,
Hòa Thượng sau khi trăm tuổi, sẽ đi đâu ?
Làm dê làm ngựa.
Vậy sau đó ?
Ta vào Địa Ngục.
Hòa Thượng là bậc đại thiện,
sao lại có thể vào Địa Ngục ?
Ta không vào Địa Ngục,
thì ai đến để dạy Ngươi đây ?
Nếu như Phật chỉ có ở nơi thanh khiết sạch sẽ,
thì nơi dơ dáy như
nhà xí không có Phật tồn tại sao ?
Phật là Vô Sở Bất Tại (không đâu không có).
Thiên Đường có Phật,
Nhưng không phải Địa Ngục là nơi cần Phật hơn sao ?
Trúc đen trúc đỏ.
Có một họa sĩ vẽ một bức họa về trúc.
Tuyệt quá !
Nhưng màu sắc thì sai rồi.
Ông lại vẽ trúc thành màu đỏ...
Vậy ông muốn vẽ trúc màu gì ?
Đương nhiên là màu đen.
Có ai thấy qua cây trúc màu đen chưa ?
Lúc bạn chỉ ra cái sai của người khác,
có thể cả quan niệm của bạn cũng sai.
Nên tự mình sửa thôi !
Sống Chết có thứ tự.
Có một người nhà giàu đến cầu xin chữ
của Hòa Thượng Tiên Nhai...
Ah ?
Tôi nhờ Thầy viết câu tốt lành.
Thầy đùa à ?
Thầy muốn tôi chết sớm sao ?
Thì là câu tốt lành mà.
Nếu như con ông chết trước ông,
ông sẽ vô cùng đau buồn.
Nếu như cháu ông chết trước con ông,
thì cha con ông đều vô cùng đau buồn.
Nếu như nhà ông, các đời các đời,
chết theo thứ tự,
đây mới gọi là Hưởng Tận Thiên Niên.
còn gì tốt lành hơn !
Có lý !
Sống thì cự khổ... Chết thì giải thoát.
Chết như được trở về nhà sau cuộc du hành mệt mỏi.
Còn gì tốt lành hơn khi ra đi theo thứ tự,
không vương vấn ?
Bất Ngữ Giới (Không nói chuyện)
Có bốn vị học Tăng cùng hẹn với nhau, im lặng tọa Thiền trong bảy ngày,
không được mở miệng nói chuyện.
Hôm thứ nhất, họ đều im lặng không nói,
Cho đến khuya, ngọn nến sắp tắt...
A, nến sắp tắt rồi.
Chúng ta đáng ra không nên nói...
Tại sao hai huynh lại nói chuyện ?
Ha ha, chỉ có Ta là người không nói câu nào thôi...
Rất nhiều người, chỉ ra lỗi lầm của người khác,
nhưng lại quên là chúng ta cũng có thể
đang mắc những sai lầm đó.
Nhất Thiết Giai Không (Tất cả đều là không)
Thiết Chu,
đi Tham Phỏng Danh Sư.
Một hôm, ông ta đến Tướng Quốc Tự gặp Hòa Thượng Độc Viên.
Vì tỏ cảnh sở ngộ của mình ông ta rất đắc ý.
Tâm, Phật và chúng sinh đều là không...
Chân tánh của hiện tượng là không.
Không ngộ, không mê, không thánh...
không phàm, không cho, không nhận.
Sao Thầy lại đánh tôi ?
Tất cả đều là không, vậy cơn tức giận của Ngươi từ đâu có ?
"Không thiện, không ác, không buồn, không vui, tất cả là không".
Ông Thiết Chu chỉ biết chẳng qua là "Khẩu Đầu Thiền" mà thôi !
"Khẩu Đầu Thiền": Thiền ngoài miệng, tỏ biết Thiền nhưng chỉ bằng miệng, không dính gì tới sự tỏ ngộ. Sự ngộ là do Tâm tham cảnh giới mà ngộ, khi công phu thành một khối thì gặp cảnh gì cũng ngộ.
Phật ngay tại nhà.
Dương Phủ từ biệt Song Thân đến Tứ Xuyên bái phỏng Bồ Tát Vô Tế.
Con đi đâu thế ?
Con đi bái Bồ Tát Vô Tế làm Thầy.
Đi tìm Bồ Tát, sao bằng đi tìm Phật ?
Xin chỉ cho con cách tìm được Phật ?
Khi con về nhà con thấy người nào trùm chăn...
mang dép ngược đến đón con,
thì đó là Phật.
Vâng !
Anh ta liền theo lời trở về nhà,
vừa đúng đêm tối.
Bà mẹ nghe tiếng con gọi cửa,
vui mừng không kịp mặc áo,
quấn lấy chăn
dép mang ngược chân.
bước ra đón.
Dương Phủ thấy vậy, lập tức Đại Ngộ.
Thiện niệm phát từ nội Tâm có thể khiến chúng ta,
bỏ đi cái vỏ bản ngã bên ngoài
Dù là một tiếng ếch cũng khiến chúng ta
Đại Giác Đại Ngộ.
Chỉ Nguyệt Đích Dụ Ngữ (Lời ẩn dụ ngón tay chỉ mặt trăng)
Ni Sư Vô Tận Tạng hỏi Lục Tổ Huệ Năng,
Con nghiên cứu Kinh Niết Bàn nhiều năm,
mà vẫn còn nhiều điều không hiểu.
Xin Sư Phụ chỉ dạy cho con.
Ta không biết chữ. Con hãy đọc đoạn Kinh đó lên...
Ta sẽ lược giải Chân Lý bên trong cho.
Cả chữ ngài cũng không biết đọc,
làm sao có thể giải được chân lý bên trong ?
Chân Lý và chữ viết không liên quan gì nhau !
Chân Lý giống như Trăng sáng trên không.
Còn chữ viết, cũng như ngón tay.
Ngón tay có thể chỉ ra Mặt Trăng ở đâu.
Nhưng ngón tay không phải là trăng sáng.
Thấy Trăng không nhất định là thấy tay, có phải không ?
Lời nói, chữ viết đều có thể mượn dùng để biểu đạt chân lý.
Chỉ là xe, là thuyền đưa bạn đến ngộ cảnh.
Nhận lầm chữ viết là Chân Lý,
không phải đáng cười như ngón tay là Mặt Trăng đó sao ?
Đệ Tử lầm lạc
Hòa Thượng Ban Khuê đang giảng đạo trong một tịnh tu hội...
Lại bắt được Ngươi ăn cắp tiền !
Đừng hòng chối được nữa !
Tha cho nó đi !
Không được ! Hắn đã ăn cắp rất nhiều lần.
Lần này không thể dung tha.
Nếu Thầy không đuổi hắn đi,
bọn con sẽ rời khỏi đây hết.
Các con đều là những sư huynh sáng suốt. Biết phải trái.
Nhưng nó cả phải trái cũng không phân rõ.
Nếu như ta không dạy nó, thì ai dạy nó đây ?
Ta muốn giữ nó lại đây.
Cho dù tất cả các con có bỏ đi !
Nghe xong lời này,
vị Hòa Thượng ăn cắp quỳ xuống
Từ đó ngộ được phải trái thiện ác.
Có một trăm con dê, đi mất một con.
Các bạn vội vàng đi khắp nơi tìm kiếm con bị mất...
và lùa 99 con còn lại cùng đi tìm.
Phải giúp những người cần giúp trước.
Cường tặc giác ngộ.
Có một tên cướp đến cướp của Thất Lý Thiền Sư (Shichiri).
Đưa tiền đây, nếu không lấy mạng ông.
Tiền trong ngăn kéo. Ngươi tự lấy đi,
nhưng để lại chút ít ta mua thức ăn.
Nhận vật gì của ai, phải nên nói cám ơn chứ.
Cám ơn !
Sau đó tên cướp bị bắt.
Có phải hắn cướp tiền của Ngài ?
Hắn không cướp của ta, tiền là do ta cho hắn,
hắn còn cám ơn ta nữa mà.
Sau khi chịu xong hình phạt,
hắn lập tức đến gặp Thất Lý Thiền Sư.
Ngài đã nhận hắn làm đồ đệ.
"Buông dao đồ tể, lập tức thành Phật"
điều này rất khó làm.
Sức mạnh gì khiến người có thể buông dao đồ tể ?
Biết chưa nào ?
Chính là lòng Từ Bi.
Sư Phụ, please put it properly with care.
Better be careful.
What a sin...
Wide off the mark.
Khúc nhạc này thế nào ?
Có thể cho biết ý nghĩa khúc nhạc này là gì ?
Tôi không biết.
Nhạc sĩ dạo lại khúc nhạc từ đầu.
Ý nghĩa của bản nhạc này là thế đấy !
Chỉ cần dùng ngôn từ để giải thích,
thì nhất định đã sai.
Bản chất vấn đề là đáp án hoàn chỉnh nhất.
Chính là thế đó !
Người câm và con vẹt.
Có một người cảm thụ được điền hay, nhưng không nói được,
thì gọi là gì ?
Người câm ăn mật.
Có một người không ngộ được nhiều,
nhưng nói rất hay,
đó gọi là gì ?
Con vẹt nói lắm.
Giống như thế.
Xin chào ! Xin chào !
Khi tu tập Thiền phải như là người câm.
To be inwardly whole,
yet be conventional standards one seems to suffer deficiency.
The worst is one who is impoverished inwardly and,
like a parrot, talks meaninglessly.
This is merely mouthing Zen.
Chén trà Thiền.
Có một vị Thiền Sư một hôm đánh rơi một chén trà.
Chén trà này là bảo vật hiếm có mà Sư Phụ ông ta vô cùng yêu thích.
Sư Phụ, con người tại sao nhất định phải chết ?
Đây là điều tự nhiên.
Trong thế gian, mọi vật có sinh thì có tử.
Sư Phụ,
vậy thì chén trà của Thầy đã đến hạn tử rồi !
Trong đời sống con người, cái gì là đáng quý nhất.
Có sinh, tự nhiên sẽ có tử.
Nếu chúng ta nhìn thấu sinh tử của con người...
thì tự nhiên sẽ nhận ra lẽ sinh diệt của sự vật.
Sư Phụ, chén trà quý của Thầy chết rồi.
Không quen chức tước.
Đại Tướng Quân Bắc Viên
là bạn nhiều năm của trụ trì Đông Phúc Tự.
Đại Tướng Quân Bắc Viên cầu kiến.
Ta không quen Đại Tướng Quân gì cả.
Master, I know how to handle it.
Sư Phụ mời ngài về...
vì người không quen ai là Đại Tướng Quân cả.
Làm phiền vào báo lại lần nữa là có Bắc Viên cầu kiến.
Được, để thử lần nữa.
À, Bắc Viên đây mà, mời vào trong ngồi.
Tên tuổi, địa vị, thành tựu và tiền của...
thường che lấp đi một chân tâm.
Giống như Du Tử đã lạc đường không thể trở về nhà.
Đừng để giống như vậy, được không nào ?
Vật ngã đối lập
Có một vị quân y
theo đội quân đánh giặc.
Ở chiến trường đang cứu các thương binh...
Nhưng các binh sĩ sau khi lành,
lại lập tức ra chiến trường,
và bị thương vong...
Cứ như vậy mãi,
ông ta cuối cùng đã nản chí.
Nếu như số họ đã phải chết,
vậy sao còn cần ta cứu ?
Nếu như việc cứu trị của ta có ý nghĩa,
vậy tại sao họ lại chiến tử ?
Ông ta không hiểu
việc cứu trị có ý nghĩa gì
trong lòng hoang mang và không thể tiếp tục cứu chữa.
Ông ta liền lên núi tìm một vị Thiền Sư...
Sau vài tháng theo vị Thiền Sư,
Cuối cùng, ông ta đã nghĩ thông vấn đề.
Lần nữa xuống núi tiếp tục cứu trị binh sĩ.
Ông ta nói,
Bởi vì ta là một lương y !
Đừng đem cái Tôi đặt vào một điều gì đó,
và cũng đừng để điều gì đó đối lập với cái Tôi.
Cho nên không có chủ quan cũng không có khách quan.
Vô ngã vô Tướng là Pháp Tướng uyên nhiên.
Là cả một trí tuệ.
Chào buổi sáng, Sư Phụ !
Ngôn quá kỳ hành.
Có một bà lão giàu có,
thường đến chùa dâng hương.
Mỗi lần như vậy đều nói trước tượng Phật là :
Tuổi con cũng đã lớn,
lúc nào Ngài mới đến tiếp con đi !
Nam Mô A Di Đà Phật !
Để trêu bà ta một tí.
Tuổi con cũng đã lớn,
lúc nào Ngài mới đến tiếp con đi.
Nam Mô A Di Đà Phật !
Lão Thái Thái, vậy thì tối nay sẽ đến rước Bà !
Bà lão quá sợ hãi, đã ngã lăn ra chết.
Những lời sáo rỗng, hay ho nhưng không có thật chất,
sẽ dẫn đến tán loạn.
Chỉ có nói và làm đi đôi,
mới là cơ sở của các việc tu thân.
Hiểu chưa nào ?
Sơn cốc chi âm.
Có một vị tu hành...
lên núi thăm một vị Thiền Sư...
xin Thiền Sư chỉ Pháp nhập môn.
Lúc con đến đây, có đi qua sơn cốc nào không ?
Dạ có !
Con có nghe tiếng vang vọng của sơn cốc không ?
Dạ có !
Nơi mà con nghe được tiếng vọng của sơn cốc...
chính là lối thông vào cửa Thiền đó !
Hoa nở có cái đẹp của hoa nở,
hoa tàn cũng có vẻ đẹp của hoa tàn.
Nếu thể hội được sự tốt đẹp của mọi tình vật quanh mình...
thì bạn đã đặt chân vào cửa Thiền rồi đó !
Vận mạng trong tay của chúng ta.
Thời xưa, có một vị tướng quân
dẫn quân đấu với quân giặc mạnh hơn ông ta gấp 10 lần.
Trên đường hành quân,
ông ta xuống ngựa đi đến một ngôi miếu nhỏ bên đường làm lễ.
Giờ ta sẽ lấy đồng tiền mà bói.
Nếu là mặt ngửa, thì Trời cao cho chúng ta thắng.
Sấp thì chúng ta sẽ thua.
Số mạnh của chúng ta nằm trong tay của thần linh thao túng.
A, là mặt ngửa ! Chúng ta thắng chắc rồi !
Mau tấn công kẻ địch nào !
Thắng rồi !
Khi quyết chiến, quả nhiên quân địch dù mạnh cũng bị đánh bại.
Quyết định của thần, thì không ai có thể thay đổi được số mạng.
Vậy sao ?
Tướng Quân lấy đồng tiền gieo quẻ ra,
hai mặt đều là ngửa.
Phật Trời đều nhìn vạn vật như nhau,
không ai được thiên vị cả.
Chỉ có ta mới có thể giúp được ta mà thôi.
Thật đáng buồn nếu như bạn không thể giúp chính mình được.
The greater the haste, the slower it is.
A youth went up a mountain
to look for a famous swordsman to learn swordsmanship.
Master, if I practice diligently,
How long would it take me to become adept at it?
Perhaps ten years.
My father is getting old and I must take care of him.
If I work far more intensively,
How long would it take me?
In that case, it might have to take 30 years.
You first mentioned 10 years,
and then you said it takes 30 years,
I do not mind undergoing whatever hardship.
I must learn it within the shortest possible time.
Master...
Then you would need 70 years to master it.
Those who are too eager for results
are apt to end up not having achieved anything.
"Ordinary-mindedness is the way" means exactly this.
Please bear this in mind.
The general's antique.
A general was toying with his prized antique.
That was close!
Go...
I was afraid of nothing in time of war,
but this antique scared me.
He finally realized it was attachment that brought about the fear of loss,
thus causing him anxiety.
Hence he flipped the cup over his shoulder and smashed it.
Where there is knowledge and feeling of gain and loss,
there is pleasure and sorrow.
To go beyond good and bad, gain and loss...
is true fortune.
Just let it be.
Giving and receiving.
I am getting old. I am going to give you a book of teachings...
to represent your successorship.
I received your Zen without written words
and I am satisfied with it as it is.
You had better keep the book.
This book has been handed down for 7 generations.
So you ought to keep it as a symbol of having received the teachings.
Very well.
What are you doing?
What are you saying?
Understanding and action are one.
If one expounds the teachings but does not live them,
then it is just like merely mouthing Zen.
Thank God!
A friend after one's own heart.
Bo Ya was a skillful zither player
and his friend Zyhong Ziqi had a fine ear for the music of the zither.
Whenever Bo Ya played a tune about the mountains...
It is as lofty as Mount Taishan.
Whenever Bo Ya played a tune about the flowing waters...
Wonderful indeed!
It's as meandering as the Changjiang and the Yellow River.
Eventually Zhong Ziqi fell ill and died.
Bo Ya never played his zither again.
He slashed the strings of his zither.
Since that time,
"cutting the zither's strings"
has always been used to describe friendship.
A frienc after one's own heart is hard to find.
After the death of his good friend,
although Bo Ya was still hale and hearty,
it was as if half of him had departed.
The light has been extinguished.
As a blind man was taking leave of his friend,
the friend gave him a lantern.
I do not need the lantern.
Light or darkness makes no difference to me.
Thank you.
Yes, I know that.
But if you do not take it with you,
others may bump into you in the dark.
All right.
Can't you see the lantern?
The light in your lantern went out long ago.
Those who make use of the words of others to instruct people...
can be likened to the blind man.
The light of his lantern had gone out long ago,
yet he was himself unaware of it.
Things of real worth.
A thief went to the home of Japanese Zen master Ryokan Daigu,
However, the thief found nothing of value in the hut.
You have come a long way here and should not return empty-handed.
Here, take this robe with you.
Poor fellow!
It is a pity I cannot present him with this beautiful moon.
Most people only pursue wealth and status,
but in the world how much can one acquire?
The stars, the moon, mountains and flowing waters,
Each flower and blade of grass are all there for you to appreciate.
A blade of grass, a drop of water.
Japanese Zen master Gisan was taking a bath.
Because the water was too hot,
he asked his disciple to add some cold water.
Yes! This is just right.
You dunce! Everything can be put to good use.
Even trees like to have water, there is life in water.
Why did you not give the rest of the water to the plants?
What right have you to waste even a drop of water?
The disciple became awakened in that instant.
He changed his name to Tekisui, meaning " a drop of water" .
All things have their uses.
However humble its origin,
every little thing has a place in nature.
Not because of anything.
Why is that man standing on the peak?
Let's ask him to find out why.
Are you standing here to wait for a friend?
No.
Then is it because you want to get some fresh air?
No.
Are you standing here to view the scenery?
No.
Since these are no the reasons,
Then why are you standing here?
I am just standing here.
Why?
Most people live in a world of duality.
Hence there is gain and loss.
If the scenery is beautiful, I feel elated.
If the scenery is not beautiful, I am disappointed.
Try to get rid of the hindrance of the world of duality.
See whether you can make it or not.
Past, present and future.
A man encountered a tiger in the wilderness.
Help...
He ran to a cliff ...
and with both hands grabbed hold of an over-hanging vine,
while the tiger growled menacingly below with its jaws wide open.
Two mice, one white and one black, began to gnaw away at the vine.
Suddenly, he saw a luscious strawberry near him.
He plucked the strawberry and popped it into his mouth.
Such an exquisite taste!
Not to think about the past and the future,
but to cherish one moment after another...
is real fortune.
Great waves of the mind.
There was a wrestler named " Great Waves.
He was immensely strong
and knew the art of wrestling.
In his private bouts, he was so powerful that
even his teacher was no match for him.
But in public, he was so bashful that...
even hi sown pupils defeated him.
All right, the winner is here.
Great Waves, you lost.
He therefore went into the mountain s to seek the advice of a Zen master.
Your name is Great Waves.
Imagine that you are those billows.
You are those huge waves sweeping everything before them.
You are no longer a wrestler who is afraid.
Do this...
and you will be the greatest wrestle in the land.
No one will be able to defeat you.
Great Waves remained in the temple sitting in meditation.
Trying to imagine himself as waves.
At first, his mind was restless and he thought about all kinds of things.
Before long...
He turned more and more to the feeling of the waves.
As night advanced the waves became larger and larger.
They swept away the flower vases and the Buddhist statues.
The waves inundated the great Buddha state and then the temple.
Before dawn,
the temple was nothing but the ebb and flow of an immense sea.
Wake up! You have done it.
Nothing can disturb you now.
You can be like the waves which overwhelm all.
Thank you, master.
Since then, during competitions,
Great Waves imagined himself to be like those sweeping waves.
He became the greatest wrestler in the land
and no one was able to defeat him.
As long as you make direct contact in any given situation,
you will become the thing
and the thing will become you.
Because I am here.
There was an elderly monk who was drying vegetables under the hot sun.
How old are you?
68
Why must you work so hard here?
Because I am here.
But you do not have to work under the hot sun.
Because the sun is there.
Nature nourishes all things,
neglects none, and does not claim credit when successful.
A man who works hard without complaints
is at one with Nature's way.
Emptiness
Yizhong was a famous painter.
Please paint the heart in this situation:
"directly pointing to one's heart
seeing one's original nature & becoming a Buddha."
Okay.
What are you doing?
I have finished painting. This is the heart.
Seeing one's original nature and becoming a Buddha,
can you draw the original nature so that I can have a look?
First show me the original nature...
and I will draw it for you.
The " original nature" is complete in itself and lacks nothing.
It is up to everyone to discover one's original nature for oneself...
because there is no other path...
that leads to it.
Buddha or demon, all in a thought.
There was an old woman nicknamed " Weeping Hag"
She cried when it rained,
she also cried when it did not rain.
Old lady, what are you crying for?
I have two daughters,
the elder sells cloth shoes
and the younger sells umbrellas.
When the whether is fine,
I think of my younger daughter whose umbrellas are not in demand.
When it rains, I think of my elder daughter.
During rainy days, no customer will want to go to her shop to buy shoes.
When the weather is fine,
you should think of business being good for your elder daughter.
During rainy days,
your younger daughter's umbrellas will definitely sell well.
Since then, "Weeping Hag" no longer cried.
She smiled at all times, rain or shine.
"Approaching the heart is approaching buddhahood"
Whether something is favourable or unfavourable,
Depends on how you look at it.
The unruffled heart.
One night, while monk Dashe was reading in his room...
Do you want valuables or are you here to take someone's life?
I want some money.
Give me money, then I won't hurt you.
Here, take these things.
Wait!
When you go out,
please shut the door to prevent petty thieves from entering.
Later, this burglar told others.
I have broken into houses and robbed for many years,
but never have I been so off-color as that time.
It's really scaring.
The happenings in life
correspond with original nature.
When the thing is over,
the heart returns to nothingness.
Mountain dharma is constant
There was a general
who often fought fiercely to kill enemies in the battlefield.
As he grew older,
he felt that the events in life
were ephemeral and thus embraced Buddhism.
He was often asked by people...
why he changed his life and he replied:
The mountain and the way of the mountain do not change.
What has changed is my heart.
The straightforward man painstakingly observes himself...
and is true to himself
So when he is a layman, he acts like a layman.
When he is a monk he acts like one.
the lovesick monk.
The Japanese nun Eshun was very beautiful.
During a dharma lecture, a monk secretly fell in love with her.
He wrote her a love letter,
requesting a private meeting.
The following day, the Zen master gave a lecture and when it was over,
Eshun arose. Addressing the monk who had written her the love letter,
she said, "If you really love me so much,
Come and embrace me now."
Human nature is characterized by conflict,
the state of being torn between opposing desires.
This leads to disharmony of the mind.
Therefore one has to be unceasingly aware at all times.
Where does one go after death?
In Zen this very mind is Buddha, is this correct?
If I say yes,
you will think that you understand without understanding.
If I say no,
I would be contradicting a fat which many understand quite well.
Where does the enlightened man go when he dies?
I don't know.
Why don't you know?
Because I have not died yet.
When living, one should appreciate life's beauty and mystery...
from the standpoint of being alive.
There is no need to be concerned about the world after death.
When it is today, live for today.
There is no need to be depressed over tomorrow,
because tomorrow's events will come tomorrow.
The swordless sword.
A swordsman's skill was exceptional,
no one was able to ward off his twin swords.
During his sunset years, he had already renounced killing,
and no longer carried a sword by his side.
Mater says his entire body is like a sword.
Let us test him, shall we?
Kill!
The master made a swift turn and gave his straw mat a tug...
In profound practice of a skill,
the mind is like still water reflecting something.
Such a mind uses the correct means...
to respond to any given situation.
Act according to different situations.
Fanning the flames.
When Zen master Dahui Zonggao
was meditating in the mountain wilderness,
a former general expresses a wish to leave home and become a monk.
When I have got rid of my bad habits,
I will come to follow you, master.
Master, I have got rid of my ego,
and come specially to embrace Zen.
If is still too early for that destiny. Your wife is sleeping with another man.
Which bald head dares to utter nonsense?
If is still far too early for you to leave home.
Go back and practice for a few more years
before you think about leaving home.
Words and actions..
are two manifestations of one's state of mind.
But with most people, there are more words than actions,
or even actions that contradict words.
The demon within.
There was a monk
who always encountered
a big spider that bothered him just as he began to meditate.
Once I begin to meditate, the giant spider appears,
and no matter what I do to chase it away,
it just would not go.
What should I do?
Next time when you begin to meditate, have a brush ready.
If the spider comes again,
you draw a big circle on its body to leave a mark,
so that you can later trace where that strange creature came from.
The monk did as he was told.
When he drew a big circle on the spider's body,
the spider went away,
and he could continue meditating.
When he had finished his meditation,
the monk was bewildered to see...
the big circle on hi sown belly.
In human life, one encounters many vexations and perturbations.
The worst vexations are usually brought about by oneself.
Poverty and wealth.
There was a framer...
who dug up a very valuable gold lohan statue in the mountain wilderness.
Wah! A gold lohan!
It must weigh at least fifty kg of solid gold.
Now we can enjoy all we want for the rest of our lives.
His family, relatives and friends felt very happy for him.
But this framer was not happy.
He pulled a long face the whole day and kept on sighing...
You are now a millionaire,
What is there left for you to be depressed about?
How depressing!
Because I do not know where the other 17 lohans are to be found.
True wealth...
is not in how much riches one has,
but whether one knows contentment.
Hand of generosity.
There was a rich man, although extremely wealthy,
was so stingy that
he could not bear to spend even one coin.
One day, Master Mok usen Hiki came to visit him.
Suppose my fist were always like that,
What would you call it?
Deformed.
Suppose it were always like that,
What would you call it then?
Still the same, deformed.
If you understand that much,
you are a happy rich man.
Since then, the rich man became more understanding.
Not only was he thrifty,
but he also knew how to distribute his wealth & spend money.
All concepts of good and bad, having and not having,
benefit and harm, me and others,
are products of the mind that discriminates.
Zen is the Middle Way that...
is neither the one...
nor the other.
Never static but constantly changing.
There were two neighbouring Zen temple.
Each had a child protege
and one of them always
went to the market to buy vegetables in the morning.
Without fail, he would meet the other.
Where are you going?
I am going wherever my feet go.
Next time he gives you this answer, ask him,
"Suppose you have no feet, then where are you going?"
This time he would not be able to give me any answer.
Where are you going?
I am going wherever the wind blows.
I have lost again in the exchange.
He did not mention feet, but changed it to wind.
Next time you ask him,
"If there is no wind, where are you going?"
Where are you going?
I am going to the market.
Defeated again!
To keep changing one's response to a situation,
is to stray further and further away from meeting it.
Such changes have their limit.
The method of constancy is therefore the best.
Laughter that unites heaven and earth.
One evening, Yaoshan Weiyan went up to the mountain.
Suddenly, the clouds and mist lifted, revealing the bright moon.
Yaoshan burst into laughter.
His laughter was so loud that it could be heard at the village below.
Last night I suddenly heard loud laughter.
I wonder where it came from?
I heard it too.
That was the sound of our master laughing on the mountain last night.
In whatever situations, as long as there is no" me" ,
you are not separate from the thing.
Yaoshan's laughter, in which the self was absent,
became one with heaven and earth.
Thiền bất khả thuyết
Các Đệ Tử đều hi vọng có thể nghe được lời khai thị của Sư Phụ.
Đã lâu rồi Thầy chưa Thăng Tòa Thuyết Pháp?
Thôi được. Vậy đánh chuông bảo mọi người đến Đại Điện nghe Pháp !
Sư Phụ, sao Thầy chưa nói câu nào đã đi ?
Nói Kinh thì đã có Pháp Sư.
Nói Giới thì đã có Giới Luật Sư.
Ta là Thiền Sư,
vả lại Thiền không thể nói.
Nói ra thì vô dụng.
Vậy sao có thể trách Ta ?
Thiền không lệ thuộc quá khứ, hiện tại, vị lai.
Thiền vốn là như vậy,
ngôn ngữ không thể nào biểu đạt !
Vân tại thanh thiên, thủy tại bình. (Mây ở trên trời, nước trong chai).
Văn Hào Lý Tường đến thăm Dược Sơn.
Dược Sơn đang niệm kinh, không quay đầu gặp Lý Tường.
Gặp mặt không bằng nghe danh.
Lý Cư Sĩ !
Ông tin lỗ tai, mà xem nhẹ con mắt của ông !
Xin lỗi đã thất lễ, Xin Sư Phụ bỏ qua !
Sư Phụ, theo Thầy thì Đạo là gì ?
Mây ở trên trời, nước ở trong bình.
Không cần nghĩ xem là mây biến thành nước,
hay nước biến thành mây.
Là mây thì ở trên trời tiêu diêu,
là nước thì an dật tự tại.
Hảo vân phiến phiến bất lạc biệt xứ.
Bàng cư sĩ, đến thăm Hòa Thượng Dược Sơn.
Đến lúc từ biệt,
Dược Sơn thỉnh một Thiền khắc đưa Bàng Cư Sĩ ra cửa.
Hai người tiễn khách dùm ta.
Dạ !
Hay cho tuyết rơi,
mỗi hạt tuyết
đều rơi đúng vị trí của nó..
Rơi ở đâu ?
Loại như ông, "Mắt sáng như mù, Có miệng như câm".
Mà cũng dám Xưng là Thiền khách ?
Vạn vật Thiên Hạ, cho dù là lớn nhỏ quí tiện,
đều hữu dụng.
Đều có vị trí riêng.
Nếu hỏi tại sao ?
Bổn Lai Như Thử ! (Vốn là như vậy !)
Triệu Châu Thạch Kiều. (Cầu Đá Triệu Châu)
Nghe nói vùng Bắc Hà Quán Âm Viện...
có một Cầu Đá Triệu Châu rất là nổi tiếng.
Nghe nói ở đây có Cầu Đá Triệu Châu,
nhưng tôi chỉ thấy chiếc cầu gỗ mà thôi.
Cầu đá ở đâu thế ?
Ông chỉ thấy cầu gỗ.
không thấy Cầu Đá Triệu Châu phải không.
Cầu Đá Triệu Châu rốt cuộc là gì thế ?
Đó là cầu độ lừa, ngựa...
và độ tất cả chúng sinh đi qua trong cơn mê !
Cầu gỗ có hình dạng
chỉ có thể độ người trong một thời gian.
Cầu Đá Triệu Châu vô hình
chính là Tâm Từ Bi Bồ Tát...
Phổ Độ Chúng Sinh !
Tẩy Bát Khứ (Rửa Bát Đi)
Có một người đến Quán Âm Viện xuất gia.
Tham Kiến Phương Trượng Triệu Châu...
Đệ Tử lần đầu đến đây.
Xin Sư Phụ dạy Đệ Tử Tu Hành.
Con ăn cháo chưa ?
Dạ ăn rồi !
Vậy thì con đi rửa bát đi !
Lãnh ngộ, Tu Hành và hành động hàng ngày...
đều là một mặt.
Hiểu được điều này rất quan trọng.
Muốn Lãnh Ngộ thì phải Tu Hành.
Nhưng không vì Tu Hành mà được Lãnh Ngộ !
Còn nhiều bát lắm !
Như Hà Tu Hành
Con muốn hỏi...
Người Tu Đạo là một người như thế nào ?
Như Ta đây !
Đại Sư cũng cần phải Tu Hành ư ?
Tu Hành không ngoài mặc áo...
Ăn cơm...
Đó là việc hàng ngày.
Thật ra như thế nào mới gọi là Tu Hành ?
Vậy ông nghĩ Ta hàng ngày làm gì ?
Tu Hành
như ngủ nghĩ, rửa mặt, ăn cơm.
Các việc hàng ngày làm
cần thành tâm thành ý.
Thì sẽ sinh ra cộng hưởng với Chân Lý.
Bá thụ tử thành Phật (Cây Bá Thành Phật !)
Sư Phụ,...
Cây Bá có Phật Tính không ?
Có.
Trải qua bao lâu mới có thể thành Phật ?
Đợi khi nào Trời sập xuống.
Vậy khi nào Trời sập xuống ?
Khi Cây Bá Thành Phật !
Phật Tính chính là bản tính tồn tại trong vạn vật.
Chân Ý của Thiền là nhìn thấu sự tồn tại của toàn Vũ Trụ.
Và hợp nhất với Chân Lý.
Đây là Chân Lý ngàn vạn năm trước đã có.
Dù Tỉ năm sau cũng không thay đổi.
Đa Quy Vu Nhất. (Nhiều quy về một.)
Đạo lý Vũ Trụ Vạn Vật quy về một.
Vậy một này quy về đâu ?
Lúc ở Thanh Châu,
Ta đã làm một cái áo *** nặng bảy cân.
Vũ Trụ vạn vật có thể phân thân ức vạn.
Nhiều hình nhiều loại nhưng thật ra chỉ là bản thân vũ trụ.
Một và Nhiều tương tức tương dung.
Nếu như Nhiều quy về Một,
vậy thì Một cũng sẽ quy về Nhiều.
Vì vậy mà bất cứ
sự vật nhỏ đến đâu cũng có thể quy về Một.
Như Hà Thị Triệu Châu ? (Cái gì là Triệu Châu ?)
Lúc Triệu Châu lớn tuổi,
luôn ở Quán Âm Viện ngoài thành Triệu Châu.
Cái gì là Triệu Châu ?
Cửa Đông, Cửa Tây, Cửa Nam, Cửa Bắc.
Thiền Phong của Triệu Châu cũng như cổng thành Triệu Châu,
bốn phía thông nhau.
Nó cũng giống như hũ vàng không đáy,
cứ lấy những gì bạn muốn và nó vẫn là vô tận.
Triệu Châu vấn Triệu Châu.
Anh nói gì ?
Tôi muốn tìm Triệu Châu.
Xin hỏi nên đi hướng nào ?
Cứ đi thẳng tới trước,
không phải ở hướng Tây, cũng không phải hướng Đông.
Giữa đường gặp lão bà
hình như rất tâm đắc Tam Muội Thiền.
Để Ta đi khảo nghiệm bà ta !
Tôi muốn tìm Triệu Châu.
Xin hỏi nên đi hướng nào ?
Cứ đi thẳng tới trước,
không phải phía Tây, cũng không phải phía Đông.
Bà ta vốn không biết gì cả.
Triệu Châu không phải rõ ràng ở trước mắt đó sao ?
Một câu trả lời bất biến...
không phải thích hợp cho tất cả các trường hợp.
Chân Lý của sinh mạng
là di động, là biến đổi.
Đình Tiền Bá Thụ Tử. (Cây Bá Trước Sân)
Cây Bá Trước Sân.
Đại ý của Phật Pháp là gì ?
Cây Bá ở trước sân.
Xin đừng dùng vật thể để tỉ dụ.
Ta không dùng vật thể để chỉ.
Sao lại nói vậy ?
Đại ý của Phật Pháp là gì ?
Cây Bá ở trước sân !
Núi xanh là sinh mạng thanh tịnh,
dòng suối là Phật đang thuyết Pháp.
Thông qua tiếng suối róc rách,
Cây Bá là Một với toàn thể Vũ Trụ.
No substitute.
May I ask what is the meaning of Zen?
I would very much like to tell you.
But now I have to go to urinate.
I have no time to talk to you.
Think about it.
Even for such a trifling thing I have to do it myself.
May I ask whether you can do it on my behalf?
To understand matters of life and death.
Others cannot do it for you.
To rely on explanations from others is to be like a parrot learning to speak.
It speaks whatever it is taught,
but does not know the meaning of the words.
Not attached to anything.
I have cast aside everything,
and with a tranquil heart here I come.
In that case, throw it out.
I have said there is nothing in my mind.
What else is there to throw out?
Then carry it out.
One who says he is not attached to anything,
even that idea of non-attachment must be abandoned.
One who is attached to
the idea of non-attachment will never know silence of mind.
Have a cup of tea.
It's hot...
Ave you been here before?
Yes, I have.
Please go inside and have a cup of tea.
Yes.
This is my first time here.
Please go inside and have a cup of tea.
Yes.
Those who have been here are invited to have a cup of tea.
Those who have not been here are also invited to have a cup of tea.
What is the meaning of this?
Temple overseer!
Yes?
Go inside and have a cup of tea.
Whether they have been to the temple or not,
Zhaozhou invited them all without distinction to have a cup of tea.
Though offering a cup of tea may seem a mundane thing,
it is an expression of the crux of Zen.
Deshan Xuanjian,
a native ofJiannan in Sichuan province,
whose given name was Zhou,
He was a Buddhist scholar
and was especially well-versed in teachings of...
the Diamond Sutra and had composed a commentary on it.
Thus he was also known as Diamond Zhou.
When he heard that
the Southern School of Zen held that" mind itself is Buddha" ,
he packed up his commentaries and headed south with the intention...
of refuting this false teaching.
The Southern School is heretic.
even daring to advocate "pointing directly to one's mind,
seeing one's original nature and instantly attaining buddhahood" .
I am going to demolish their position.
Thus he brought along
his Green Dragon commentary on the Diamond Sutra,
and left Sichuan for Hunan Province.
One the way, he met an old woman selling buns.
Old lady, I would like to buy a couple of buns from you.
What are you carrying?
It is my Green Dragon commentary.
Which sutra does it explain?
The Diamond Sutra.
Let me ask you one question.
If you can give me an answer, I will give you free refreshment.
Alright.
The Diamond Sutra says:
Past mind cannot be attained, present mind cannot be attained,
future mind cannot be attained.
Which mind does the learned monk desire to refresh?
I... I am unable to answer that.
I am sorry. I cannot let you have my refreshments.
Please buy from elsewhere.
Deshan had no choice
but to go with an empty stomach to Master Longtan Chongxin.
Long have I heard of Longtan (Dragon Pond),
but now that I have arrived here.
There is no pond to see and no dragon appears.
You have really arrived at Longtan.
Deshan was silent
and was in attendance at Master Longtan's side till late at night.
It is late into the night already. Go to the room to retire.
It is very dark outside.
I will give you light.
All right.
Longtan suddenly blew it out.
At that instant, Deshan was enlightened.
The following day,
Deshan burned his Green Dragon commentary in the temple hall.
Even if we have mastered the profound doctrine,
it is only like placing a hair in a vast space.
Even if we have exhausted the human knowledge of the world,
it is only like letting a drop fall into a great abyss.
Once the external light was extinguished,
the inner light was able to come into existence.
Once dependence on others is gone,
then only can one's potential be realized.
Amitabha Buddha.
Founder of the Linji sect Linji Yixuan.
Linji was a native of Nanhua in Caozhou district.
His family name was Xing.
As a child, he was exceptionally brilliant.
He entered a Budddhist monastery as a boy,
and devoted himself to the study of the Vinaya school and the sutras.
After his awakening, he traveled and finally settled in Hunan Province,
and established the Linji Temple.
Linji often used a shout to put a stop
to his disciples dualistic or conceptual thinking.
Linji's shout and Deshan's use of the staff were well-known...
and gave rise to the saying: Linji's shout and Deshan's staff.
As a result, Linji's disciples imitated him and used shouts,
although they were ignorant of the purpose.
You people are always imitating my shout.
Now Iam going to test all of you.
Suppose a monk emerges from the Eastern Hall
and another emerges from the Western Hall.
They meet and both give a shout.
Can you distinguish which is host and which is guest?
If you cannot,
from now on, do not imitate my shout.
Actually, the shout is not important.
What is important is to realize that host and guest are one and the same.
Who is host?
None other than your real self.
Whiplash.
Linji once told a monk.
Sometimes a shout is like
the precious sword of the Vajraraja (Diamond King).
Sometimes a shout is like
a golden-haired lion that creeps forward in a crouch.
Sometimes a shout is like
a lure stick with a tuft of grass dangling on the end.
Sometimes a shout is not used as a shout at all.
Do you understand?
I...
The monk hesitated and just when he was about to formulate an answer,
Linji gave a shout.
Once the distinction
between self and others, inside and outside, big and small,
good and bad, ignorance and wisdom,
life an death, to have and not to have, etc,
has been eliminated, then the truth of Zen and insight can be realized.
This gives one a new life.
To bring this about, one cannot employ thought.
One has to use one's own perception.
What is living and what is dying?
Qianyuan and his teacher Daowu
went to a house to make a condolence call.
Alive or dead?
I won't say alive, and I won't say dead.
Why won't you say?
I simply won't say.
If you still won't say, I am going to hit you.
You may hit me, but I won't say.
How wicked of you! You refuse to tell your disciple what you know.
What kind of a teacher are you?
If you do not want to say, so be it.
Daowu later died.
Qianyuan went to Shishuang...
and asked him the same question.
I won't say alive, and I won't say dead.
Upon hearing these words, Qianyuan had an insight.
One day,
Qianyuan took a hoe
into the teaching hall and crossed back and forth.
What are you doing?
I am looking for relics of our later mater.
Vast waves spread far and wide, foaming billows flood the skies.
What relics of our late mater are you looking for?
I am diligently working on it.
When alive, life is everything.
After a person's death,
even when one talks to the dead person,
the state of death is then everything.
When alive, there is only life,
and hence there is no agitation over death.
Not to be dependent is to be saved.
One day, Linji went to the pagoda of Bodhidharma.
Will you pay your reverence first to Buddha or the patriarch?
Neither to Buddha nor to the Patriarch.
What enmity is there between Buddha, Patriarch and you?
Linji shook out his long sleeves and left.
To seek Buddha's help is to lose Buddha.
to seek the Patriarch's help is to lose the Patriarch.
The most valuable treasure is with you.
It can be found in yourself.
Once you seek it outside, you will lose it.
I want to punish you, this is not for fun!
Juzhi's one finger Zen.
Master Juzhi left home to become a monk,
he stayed in a hermitage and practiced meditation of his own.
One day, a nun named Shiji came to his hut.
she walked in a circle three times in front of him.
If you can speak, I will take off my rain hat.
There must be some Zen revelation in her action.
Btu what exactly is it?
Since you cannot give an answer, I will take my leave.
What was she trying to convey?
What does her rain hat represent?
I cannot even compare with this nun.
What is the point of my solitary mediation?
He meant to abandon his hermitage
and travel to various places to call on teachers..
to ask for instruction and
that night he wrapped up his things for foot-traveling.
My name is Hangzhou Tianlong, from your ashen expression,
Is there anything troubling you?
Juzhi gave a full account of the previous day's happenings.
Although I inhabit the body of a man,
still I lack a man's spirit.
I cannot even answer the question posed by a nun...
Do you want to know the right answer?
Please enlighten me, master.
The truth is entirely in this.
In this finer of varied phenomena.
At one moment it is Shiji with her smiling face.
At one moment it is the cries of the multitude...
At one moment is it the murmuring stream,
and then a myriad butterflies in flight...
At one moment it is the peak,
at one moment it is the precipice...
It seems like the immovable peak,
and the gust of the cool and fresh wind...
Master, I understand completely.
One is all, and all is one.
Master! Mater has gone.
from the One comes many, the many comes from the One.
Since then, whenever anyone asked Master Juzhi about Zen,
he would raise one finger.
This is it.
From the One comes many, the many comes from the One.
There is variety in things of the world.
But they all come from the same source.
The world is in a finger,
the finger is not separate from all things.
Master, my finger hurts.
Juzhi cuts off disciple's finger.
This is it.
Whenever Juzhi was not around,
the servant boy used to answer questions in his place.
This is it!
Master, someone came to enquire about the dharma,
So I raised my finger to answer on your behalf.
This is like a parrot learning to speak words.
What kind of Zen is that?
What is the Dharma?
The master and the servant boy each raised a finger.
The boy saw his shortened finger,
and was instantly awakened.
the insight of others is always theirs,
and can never be made ours...
unless one can have a perception by oneself.
Whether you can make it, it depends on your perception.
Look!
What is it?
Xiangyan's man up a tree.
Xiangyan once said to his disciples,
Supposing there is a man
climbed up a tree and held onto a branch with his mouth.
Just then somebody comes along and asks him...
May I ask what is the supreme meaning of the dharma?
If he does not answer, he evades his duty...
If he answers, he will lose his life.
Tell me, how is he to resolve such a dilemma?
Let us not ask about the man who is already on the tree.
Can you tell me what he was like before he climbed up the tree?
Regarding the truth that existed before words,
one must perceive it with a life that is beyond words.
Same destination, different paths.
A monk asked Master Baling.
Are the meaning of the patriarchs and...
the meaning of the teachings the same or different?
When chickens are cold, they roost in trees.
When ducks are cold, they enter the water.
Understand?
Cold is cold,
but the methods to avoid cold are varied.
Each has his own way of reaching the same gold.
There is not only one path,
and not everyone follows the same path.
If you stick to just one method, you may not reach the goal.
Six in One.
Yuanghan asked Master Shongyi Hongen,
How is one to have the experience of seeing one's original nature?
It is like a house
that has six windows with a monkey inside.
One the eastern side someone calls out to the monkey Shan Shan,
Shan Shan replies,
and the six windows all emit one sound.
Is the world that one experiences through the six senses of sight...
hearing, smell, taste, touch and thought the real world?
If you break through the limitations of the sense organs and,
for example, hear with the eyes and see with the ears,
then you will have
a sudden realization of the oneness of all the senses.
Too near and cannot see.
One day, while Nanquan Puyuan was cutting grass,
a wandering monk asked him for directions.
May I ask how to get to the famous temple of Nanquan?
I spent 30 coins to buy this sickle.
I am not asking you about the sickle.
But how to go to Nanquan's temple.
This sickle proves to be very sharp when used.
One who is caught in thought loses one's original nature.
All he knows are words and descriptions,
when he sees the actual thing he fails to perceive it.
The universe in a mustard seed.
During the Tang Dynasty, Li Bo was very fond of reading books.
Because he read extensively,
he was nicked named "ten-thousand-volume Li"
Once, he asked the monk Guizong Zhichang,
The Vimalakirti-nirdea Sutra says,
Mount Sumeru contains in it a mustard seed,
and a mustard seed contains in it Mount Sumeru,
Can it be more than a senseless tale?
Everybody calls you "Ten-thousand-volume Li" ,
May I ask how
those 10000 volumes of books can be contained in your little sk ull?
You can find Tao everywhere.
The universe is in a mustard seed.
The monk who lacks compassion.
There was an old woman,
who supported a monk for 20 years.
Amitabha Buddha.
A pretty lass used to bring food
to the monk and attended to him while he mediated.
Afterwards when you send food to him,
embrace him to test the outcome of his meditation.
Alright.
How do you feel?
It is like an old tree that grows on a cold rock in winter.
Like the absence of a feeling of warmth in the depth of winter.
When the old woman heard this, she drove the monk out of the hut...
and burned it down.
All I have supported for 20 years is but an unremarkable fellow.
Of course, monks are not supposed to *** after women.
But after practicing meditation for 20 years,
the monk did not have a compassionate heart.
Truly an unremarkable bum!
True self, awake.
The Zen master Ruiyan
was given to talking to himself every now and then.
True self.
Yes.
Awaken yourself!
Yes! Yes!
Do not be deceived by others.
Yes! Yes!
Man is often at the mercy of circumstances
and is confused and agitated...
because of the lack of inner clarity and the scars left by past experiences.
Everyone has to be deeply award of oneself,
and thus be master of oneself.
Simple truth but difficult to follow.
This is a lecture of the sutra.
Nothing would be containing all tastes.
In this world,
How many people would know its real taste?
But...
I know how this candy tastes.
Bai Juyi went to Bird Nest Master to enquire about Zen.
What need to be practiced faithfully every day
in order to be in accord with the Tao?
To avoid doing evil, to do as much good as possible.
Even a 3 year old child knows this.
Though it is true that even a 3 year old child knows this,
yet even a man of 80 fails to live up to it.
Although we are all aware of the maxim
"not easy to know
but easy to act thoughtlessly" , but difficult to practise.
everybody knows the logic of a truth,
But how many people actually practise it?
Ordinary-mindedness is the way
Master, how to diligently practise the Tao?
When hungry, eat; When tired, sleep.
Is this not what most people do?
No, no, no!
Most people are not like that.
Most people, when eating, are full of thoughts and desires,
and when sleeping, are full of cares.
How many people awake each morning...
with a mind unburdened by things of the past?
One has to dispel dangerous things that cause inner turmoil
and live according to one's original nature,
Because Tao is in everyday life.
Which one is not the best?
Punshan Baoji saw some people buying wild boar meat in the street.
Give me a pound of he good stuff.
My dear fellow, which portion here is not the good stuff?
When Panshan heard the butcher's words,
he had an insight.
Any moment is the best moment...
and any place, the best place.
If only you perceive this whole-heartedly.
The fragrance of the osmanthus.
What is the profound mystery of Zen?
The Analects of Confucius say,
"I have concealed nothing from you."
In Zen, nothing is also hidden from you.
I still do not understand.
Come with me for a walk at the back of the mountain.
Did you smell the fragrance of the osmanthus?
In that case, I have not hidden anything from you.
Live in the now and insight is there before you.
Be aware of each and every moment of your life.
Every night is then like
the joy of springtime and every day is a good day.
Tall and short bamboo.
Qingping asked Master Cuiwei,
What is the root meaning of the dharma?
Wait until others are not around and then I will tell you.
Others have all gone away already.
Perhaps you can tell me now.
Follow me.
Look, the bamboo on this side is tall,
and that on the other side is short.
People can be wise or ignorant; bamboo can be tall or short.
Tall or short, wise or ignorant,
there is no definite good or bad about it.
Tall has its advantage and short has its usefulness.
No me, no other.
Yunyan went to visit Zen Master Baizhang,
You work so hard every day,
And for whose sake?
There is someone who requires it.
Why not have him do it himself?
He does not have the wherewithal to do it.
Self and other-
this form of dualistic thinking is the source of sorrow.
One has to have a compassionate heart...
that does not discriminate between self and other,
and help the one who needs help most.
I am here.
Yunyan was brewing tea...
when his fellow disciple Daowu walked in.
Who are you brewing tea for?
Someone wants to drink it.
Can't the person who wants to drink it brew the tea himself?
Well, I happen to be here.
One who understands does not discriminate between host and guest.
He is I and I am he.
One can make a distinction between who is host and who is guest,
and yet also reverse the order.
Cheers.
Jingqing and the sound of raindrops.
Jingqing said to his disciple.
What is the sound outside?
Sentient beings are inverted. They lose themselves and follow after things.
Teacher, what is then right way to feel?
I am the sound of raindrops.
One has to be one with phenomena, with no distinction between the two.
Not even the sound of a raindrop is excluded.
Thus two become one and there is complete insight.
Not seeing the truth.
An official named Wei asked Zen Master Xuansha Shibei,
Somebody said we use " it" all the time,
but do not know what " it" is,
What thing is this?
Have some fruit.
Thank you.
Master, you have not answered me.
What thing is this?
It is this.
You use it every day but do not know what it is.
It is not difficult to understand
the Tao only do not discriminate and choose.
If you ask where is the path to understanding,
you are making a great mistake.
This is because there is no path,
we are living in the midst of Tao.
To lack nothing.
Shitou Xiqian was a disciple of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng.
After Huineng died,
he went to see Master Qingyuen and wanted to learn from him.
Where do you come from?
From Caoxi, where Huineng taught.
Where did you learnt at Caoxi?
That I lacked nothing before I went to Caoxi.
Then why did you go to Caoxi?
If I did not go to Caoxi,
Then how would I know that I lack nothing?
No teacher can confer insight on a disciple,
but he can help a disciple to understand all at once,
and have insight by himself.
Master, my glasses are broken.
Can you help me to see what is ahead?
Beyond words.
Two persons are waling with raindrops falling from the sky,
And heaven does not drench one person, can you explain this?
Because one of them is wearing a straw coat and the other is not.
Because the rain is scattered and does not fall onto both,
so one of them got drenched but not the other one.
Because one of them is walking along the middle of the road,
while the other is walking under the shelter of buildings.
All of you based your answers on " does not drench one person" ,
so of course you cannot figure out the meaning.
Actually, by " does not drench one person" ,
Does it not mean that both persons got wet?
Oh my God!
A finger points at the moon,
but the moon is not at the tip of the finger.
Words point at the truth,
but the truth is not in words.
To seek illumination through words...
is to get lost in the web of word,
and not see the truth.
Danxia burning a Buddha statue.
Zen master Danxia Tianran was once at Huiling Temple,
Because it was extremely cold that day,
he burnt a statue of Buddha to keep warm.
How dare you burn a statue of Buddha?
Well, I am trying to see if I can find...
any sharira by burning a statue of Buddha.
How can you expect to find sharira in a wooden statue?
If there are no sharira to be found in it,
Then let me have the remaining two Buddha statues for my fire.
A man of Tao has no self.
So how can he be guilty of wrongdoing?
To act without any sense of self is to be free of wrongdoing.
Act according to circumstances.
What do you make the Danxia burning the statue of Buddha?
to keep warm amid the cold.
Is he or is he not guilty of wrongdoing?
When it is hot, take shelter under the bamboo to keep cool.
Lie in actuality takes the natural course.
Follow what comes naturally to the uncorrupted heart in daily living...
When hungry, eat;
and when tired, sleep.
Fools may laugh at this, but the wise will understand.
Oneness with the universe.
May I ask how to make the mountains,
Rivers, and earth become part of myself?
Make yourself one with the mountains, rivers and earth.
The " me" who desires to grasp the truth,
but still clings to the idea of " me" as opposed to truth,
will never understand completely what truth is.
One has to be in union with the world,
and in complete self-abandonment be one with the truth.
Change is the eternal truth.
Master, the physical body rots away;
Is there a truth that never changes and is eternal?
Yes, there is.
It is like the beautiful flowers on the mountain,
as lovely as brocade...
It is like the calm water in the stream,
actually it is flowing.
Flowers wither easily, yet they never cease to bloom;
the water in gully is constantly flowing
yet the stream seems unchanging.
The meaning of life can be realized in the process of living.
Change is the eternal truth.
What is not the dharma?
A disciple was taking leave of Zen Master Daolini
Thank you for your guidance. I am leaving.
Where are you going?
To wander all over the world and learn about the dharma.
Regarding the dharma, I have a bit of it here.
Where is it?
He pulled out a thread from his robe...
Is this not the dharma too?
The essence of the universe is not to be found in a faraway place.
but in one's mind.
Everything ha Buddha-nature, so what is not the dharma?
This is so only if one grasps the truth.
There is and there is not.
Scholar Zhangzhou asked Zen master Xitang Chizang.
Is there paradise and hell?
Yes.
That is not correct. I once asked Mater Qinshan Wensui about Zen,
All he said was nothing.
Mister, how many family relations do you have?
A wife and two children.
And how many family relations does Qinshan have?
Qinshan is a monk, who has left home,
How can he have family relations?
Miser, you speak form the standpoint of being a family man.
You must be like Qinshan before you can say all is " nothing" .
There is variation in everything.
Therefore there is no "fixed standard" in the world.
It varies with a person's circumstances.
Follow the flow
After Zen Master Damei Fchang's enlightenment,
he secluded himself in a mountaintop hermitage.
One day, a novice monk who had lost his way...
came upon Damei.
How long have you been living here?
I only see the surrounding mountains
changing from green to yellow with the seasons.
Which path can I take to get out of this mountain?
Follow the flow.
Action is actually very easy.
But it is often circumscribed by self-imposed restrictions,
making even the slightest movement of freedom difficult.
Difficult to advance and to retreat.
Zen master Fayun once said to his disciple.
If you advance one step, you lose the Tao.
If you retreat one step, you lose phenomena.
Not to advance and not to retreat is to be like a stone that knows nothing.
What is to be done then?
How to avoid the state of not-knowing?
Disciple, do your utmost.
How not to lose the Tao and also not forsake phenomena?
Advance one step, and at the same time, retreat one step.
To advance is to retreat, to retreat is to advance.
The two states are both to gain and to give up.
This is the sate of harmony.
Monk without a sense of humour.
Baiyun Shouduan was very diligent,
but he lacked a sense of humour.
Once, his master Yangqi Fanghui asked him:
Which techer did you previously study under?
Master Yue of Chaling.
I heard that while crossing a bridge,
he fell into the water and was enlightened.
He wrote a gatha about it.
I still remember the contents of the gatha.
I have one jewel shining bright.
Long buried it was underneath worldly worries.
This morning the dusty veil is off and restored is its luster.
Illumining rivers and mountains and ten thousand things.
Shauduan could not understand why his teacher burst into laughter.
He did not sleep the whole night.
the next morning...
Master,
why did you laugh after hearing Master Yue's gatha?
Did you see the exorcists in the street yesterday?
Yes, I did.
In what way are you no better than the exorcists?
Master, what are you referring to?
the exorcists want people to laugh,
but you are afraid of people laughing.
When Shouduan heard this, he was enlightened.
Zen is beyond the state of logic.
Its practice is to examine...
thoroughly the life of a common person,
and to steer clear of stifling rigidity and abstraction.
To grasp nothingness.
Shigong Huicang asked his younger fellow disciple Xitang Chizang.
Can you grasp nothingness?
You try.
Okay.
Is that all?
You have grasped nothing.
How do you think I should grasp it?
Grasp it like this.
Ouch! It is painful.
Since form is emptiness and emptiness is form,
then instead of a hand grasping at nothing,
it is better to grasp at someone's nose because this is closer to reality.
The fire spirit comes for fire.
Xuanze asked Qingfeng...
What is Buddha?
The fire spirit comes for fire.
I understand! I understand!
I understand!
What did you get?
The fire spirit is no different from fire. When he comes for fire,
it is like myself who, being a Buddha from the very beginning,
wants to know what Buddha is.
Jut as I thought,
you have not understood.
That is strange!
My answer was obviously right, so why is it not correct?
May I ask... what is Buddha?
The fire spirit comes for fire.
I understand... This time I have really understood.
No matter the question or the answer,
the first answer was just a response of memory.
But when Xuanze had exhausted thought,
he had a sudden enlightenment.
The way to truth is right before you.
A Zen pupil asked Master Yuezhou Qianfeng...
All Buddha of the ten parts of the universe.
enter the one road of nirvana
Where does that road begin?
Right here.
The meaning of life is not to be found in a distant world of abstraction.
But in paying attention to everyday happenings and details of ones life.
One's perception has to be in the field of living.
In contemplating where the truth may be found,
it just might be right before you.
Dongshan's " no cold or heat"
When cold and heat come, how can we avoid them?
Why not go to a place where there is no cold or heat?
What is the place where there is no cold or heat?
When it is cold, your ego freezes to death.
When it is hot, your ego swelters to death.
In the practice of Zen,
there is no need for a special place.
Once the heat of the ego is put out,
naturally there is a sense of well-being.
In life there are the opposites
of our likes and dislikes such as heat and cold.
A person who is one
with heat or cold does not regard them as opposites.
As a result, to him there are no such opposites as heat and cold.
The nun becomes a monk.
A nun asked Master Longtan...
How should I practice Zen so that in my next life I become a monk?
How long have you been a nun?
My question is:
Do I have any chance of becoming a monk?
What are you now?
I am a nun, who does not know that?
Who knows you?
Men and women may seem different, but in the world of Zen,
they are each other. To maintain they are different is an absurdity.
What can one who believes in such an absurdity hope to learn?
Three pounds of hemp.
A novice monk asked Master Dongshan,
What is Buddha?
Three pounds of hemp.
Puzzled, the monk went to ask Master Zhimen Guangzu...
I asked Dongshan about the meaning of Buddha,
and he answered: three pounds of hemp.
What does it mean?
Flowering groves, multicoloured forests.
I still do not understand.
Bamboo of the South, wood of the North.
Got it?
The more I hear, the more I do not understand.
Thus the monk went back to Dongshan to find out from him.
Words do not express facts. Speech does not accord with the situation.
Those who accept words are lost,
and those who linger over phrases are deluded.
If can be likened to the situation where a stone strikes a dog.
But if a stone strikes a lion,
the lion disregards the stone and charges at the person who threw it.
One must not be like the dog
but be like the lion in Zen practice.
The Zen practitioner's utterances are but words suited for the occasion,
a kind of " word head" that draws one into a deeper realm.
One must not think that the literal meaning is what Zen is all about.
Buffalo passing through a window.
A buffalo passes through a window,
the horns and the four legs go past.
Only the tail does not pass through.
A person may resolve to give up worldly things
and undergo hardship to practice Zen,
but the desire for fame is still there.
Such a person still has traces of weakness,
like a buffalo which passes through
the window but whose tail fails to get through.
Having such blind spots, one cannot be considered perceptive.
To be master of oneself.
Nature begets all things.
The formless is by nature alone yet complete and silent.
To be like a master to all things.
And to go beyond time.
Humans are in essence one with the whole.
A person who sees
that one is not separated from the whole is the Tao,
Buddha, and the spirit of Zen.
To be master of oneself,
one must not regard environment and circumstances as obstacles,
but change oneself.
A day of wind and rain.
Shunneng was a Zen master of the Southern Song Dynasty.
An eternity of endless space, a day of wind and rain.
We must not cling to the wind and moon of a day...
and ignore the eternal emptiness.
Neither should we cling to the eternal emptiness.
And give no attention to the wind and moon of the day.
People complain of the heat.
But I love the summer day because it lasts so long.
Warm wind comes from the south, and a comfortable coolness
is born around the temple and the terrace.
To understand or not to understand, be sure to avoid dualistic thinking.
People generally have to wait until their times of difficulty are over
to realize that there is also a bright side to them.
If one can have perception at the moment,
then summer has its advantage
and winter is also wonderful.
The snake's two conflicting heads
There was a snake in the forest
which was leading a carefree life until one day...
Hey, snake head, why is it that you are always moving forward.
and I can only follow behind? This is not fair.
Snake tail, I have eyes,
so of course I take the lead in going forward.
How could you be moving forward?
If not for the motion of my tail,
how could you move forward?
I go wherever I please.
You cannot do anything about it.
Move by yourself if you are able to.
Disgusting! I am determined to move away.
No way out! I really cannot move.
You win! I am not going to contend with you.
You can take the lead in moving forward.
You win!
Just go ahead.
As a result the snake tail very haughtily moved forward...
and felt very conceited.
However, it did not have eyes and could not see where it was going...
What's the use of letting you go ahead?
Now, we just can't move.
Watch out! There is a cliff!
In the end, the snake fell to its death in the ravine.
Heaven and earth merge with me,
all things and I are one.
The myriad things may have countless forms
but their essence is the same.
The frog's soliloquy.
Don't you understand?
Let me tell you a story of the frog.
Pay attention!
In the undergrowth by the side of a pond...
lived a group of frogs.
What a nice place!
Heaven exists for us.
Earth exists for us,
So that we have space to live.
Bravo! Wonderful!
Water exists for us,
the air exists for us frog.
Bravo!
Bravo!
Bravo!
Bravo...
The insects in the air exist for us.
The fruits on earth exist for us frogs.
Bravo!
The snake is here!
Frightening!
Poor little frog 1
Don't tell me the snake exists for us too.
Right, the snake exists for frogs too.
If there were no snakes, the frogs would consume everything...
and over breed.
Then there would be no space to live.
That is logical.
There is no definite good or bad about anything in the world.
After something has happened,
it depends on how you look at it,
whether as good or bad.
The spider's lifeline.
Shakyamuni Buddha was once sitting by a well in a garden
when he gazed into the well.
Save me...
Save me...
I am suffering greatly. Save me!
When this man was living,
he committed many atrocities. So he went into hell after death.
In his lifetime, all he did was to kill and destroy.
Did he not do even a single good deed?
Ah yes!
While walking along the road once,
he was about to step on a spider
when he felt a momentary spark of compassion,
and did not kill the spider.
Though this maybe a small matter, still it can be considered a good deed.
Alright, I will use the power of this little spider
to save him from the bitter sea of suffering.
A spider's lifeline coming down from heaven.
Do not climb up. This spider's lifeline is mine.
I will not allow all of you to climb up. Get down.
You ***!
Get lost! If all of you still climb up,
the spider's lifeline will break.
Disgusting!
Get down!
We want to go up, too.
Help...
Help...
The more love we give,
the more love we have.
The more we share our bounty with others,
the greater is our bounty.
The robber failed to understand this truth.
Therefore even the one good deed he ever did in his lifetime
was nullified.
Luosheng Gate
During a time of turmoil,
there were corpses everywhere outside Luosheng Gate.
The sight of crows everywhere...
and their cawing added to the eerie atmosphere.
When night fell,
nobody dared to venture around the area.
business is very poor.
I have no choice but to dismiss you.
If I go on like this,
I will starve to death...
and be like those corpses left behind.
If I don't want to starve to death,
I will have not be a robber
All right.
So be it!
In order to survive, there is no choice but to rob.
Though he did not have the nerve to do cruel things,
in order to survive he steeled himself.
There's someone there.
It's only an old woman,
who is as thin as a monkey.
In that case, I have nothing to fear.
You are really wicked!
Doing such a despicable thing!
I am only pulling out the hair of corpses.
Those who died are pitiful enough,
Why still violate their body?
I am only pulling out these hairs to make wigs,
and to exchange them for food.
Taking the hair from the dead maybe a bad deed,
but those who died here are not good people.
She sold snakes like she was selling salted fish.
I don't consider what she did to be bad.
If she didn't do this, she would starve to death.
She really had no choice.
Like her, if I didn't do this,
I would starve to death. I have no choice.
Please forgive me.
Than k you for clearing my doubts.
I am also someone who, if I did not do this,
would starve to death.
You would also not hate me, would you?
Give me something you have.
Return me my clothing. It is the only thing I have left.
Oh, how miserable is my life!
Often, in order to survive,
people resort to doing very low-down things.
However, there are many others who,
merely to satisfy their vanity and their desires,
commit all kinds of evil.
Thank God!