I explain to you matters— Yangshan
Pertaining to enlightenment,
But don’t try to keep
Your mind on them.
Just turn to the ocean
Of your own essence
And develop practical
Accord with its nature.
You fools!— Lin-chi
What are you running
After so intently?
Why are you trying
To put a head on top of your head?
Your head is already
Exactly where it needs to be.
— Chinul 1209All dharmas are like a dream: this is what all the saints have taught. Consequently, deluded thoughts are originally calm, and the sense-spheres are originally void. This void and calm is luminous, aware, and never dark. This void and calm mind is precisely the pure mind which was transmitted by our predecessor, Bodhidharma. Whether deluded or awakened, the mind is fundamentally self-aware.
Every day priests minutely examine the Dharma— Ikkyu (1394-1491)
And endlessly chant complicated sutras.
Before doing that, though, they should learn
How to read the love letters
Sent by the wind and rain,
The snow and moon.
— Hung-chihEmpty yet aware, the original light shines spontaneously; tranquil yet responsive, the great function manifests. A wooden horse neighing in the wind does not walk the steps of the present moment; a clay ox emerging from the sea plows the springtime of the eon of emptiness.
Understand?
Where a jade man beckons, even greater marvel is on the way back.