Defend me from chickens, for dogs I'm not afraid of!

*note*..some funny romanian proverbs.
-added by Danny-
................

• Apa trece, pietrele rămân.
  • Translation: "Water flows, but rocks remain."

• Apără-mă de găini, că de câini nu mă tem.
  • Translation: "Defend me from chickens, for dogs I'm not afraid of."
  • Note: it refers to people: the chicken are the mean people, the treacherous friends, the dogs are the known enemies

• Aruncă binele în stânga şi în dreapta, şi la nevoie o să-l găseşti.
  • Translation: "Throw the good to your left and right, and you'll find it when you'll need it."

• Ascultă cu urechile, vezi cu ochii, dar taci cu gura.
  • Translation: "Use your ears to listen, use your eyes to see, but use your mouth to shut up."

• Dacă tăceai filosof rămâneai.
  • Translation: "Had he kept silent he would have passed for a wise man."

• Banu-i ochiu' dracului
  • Translation: "Money is the devil's eye."

• Treaba lăsată de azi pe mâine, baltă rămâne.
  • Translation: "Don't leave for tomorrow what you can do today."

• Cine are carte, are parte!
  • Translation: "Knowledge is power."

• Cine ştie carte, are patru ochi
  • Translation: "The one who has knowledge, has four eyes."

• Azi fură un ou, mâine un bou!
  • Translation: "He who steals an egg today, will steal an ox tomorrow!"

• Cine-i harnic şi munceşte are tot ce îşi doreşte. Cine fură şi nu-l prinde, are tot aşa!
  • Translation: "The one who works hard has everything he wants. The one who steals and is not caught, has the same."
  • Meaning: Life is not fair.

• La anul când o făta cârlanul! - sau - Când o fi bunica fată mare!
  • Translation: "Next year when the lamb delivers - and - When my grandma will be a virgin again!"
  • Meaning: Used to suggest something that will never happen.

• Câinele bătrân nu latră degeaba.
  • Translation: "The old dog doesn't bark without reason."

• Câinele moare de drum lung şi prostul de grija altuia.
  • Translation: "A dog dies from too much walking, a fool from worrying about other's business."

• Câinii latră, ursu' trece...
  • Translation: "The dogs bark, the bear passes by..." (undisturbed)

• Până ce căţeaua nu ridică coada, câinele nu o miroase
  • Translation: "Until the bitch raises her tail, the dogs don't smell her"

• Cine se scoală de dimineaţă, departe ajunge.
  • Translation: "Early risers travel far away."

• Copii cuminţi şi babă frumoasă, cine-a mai vǎzut?!...
  • Translation: "Quiet/obedient children and beautiful old woman, who did ever saw?!"

• Cu gându' la Maica Domnului şi cu mâna în straiţa omului...
  • Translation: "With the thought at the Holy Virgin, with the hand in someone's pocket..."
  • Meaning: Thinking holy things while doing sinful deeds.

• Dacă doi spun că eşti beat, du-te şi te culcă.
  • Translation: "If two people say you're drunk, go to bed."

• Dai un ban dar stai în faţă!
  • Translation: "You pay top dollar, but you get a front seat!"

• Dragostea e oarbă, dar căsătoria îi găseşte leacul.
  • Translation: "Love is blind, but marriage finds its cure."

• Drumul spre iad e pavat cu intenţii bune.
  • Translation: "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions."

• Fereşte-mǎ, Doamne, de prieteni, cǎ de duşmani mǎ apǎr singur.
  • Translation: "Defend me, Lord, from my friends, because from enemies I can defend myself."

• Fiecare pasăre, pe limba ei piere.
  • Translation: "Every bird dies by its own tongue."

• Leneşu' mai mult aleargă -- Scumpu' mai mult păgubeşte
  • Translation: "The lazy one runs more -- the stingy one loses more."

• Mâţa blândă zgârie rău.
  • Translation: "The gentle cat scratches the worst."

• Nu da vrabia din mână pe cioara de pe gard.
  • Translation: "Don't give the sparrow in the hand for the crow on the fence."

• Nu iese fum fără foc.
  • Translation: "There's no smoke without fire."

• Nu măsura pe alţii cu palma ta.
  • Translation: "Don't measure others with your own hand."
  • Meaning: Some people may have reasons unknown to you for doing certain things.

• Nu poţi îndrepta lumea cu umărul.
  • Translation: "You can't straighten the world with your shoulder."

• Nu te pune cu prostul că are mintea odihnită.
  • Translation: "Don't argue with a fool, he has a rested mind."

• Nu vinde pielea ursului din pădure.
  • Translation: "Don't sell the skin of the bear from the forest."

• Obişnuinţa... a doua natură !
  • Translation: "The habit... the second nature."

• Ochii care nu se văd se uită...
  • Translation: "The eyes which don't see each other, forget each other."
  • Translation: "Out of sight, out of mind."

• Omul sfinţeşte locul.
  • Translation: "The man blesses the place."

• Ori te poartă cum ţi-e vorba, ori vorbeşte cum ţi-e portul.
  • Translation: "Either act as you speak, or speak as you act."

• Prietenul, la nevoie se cunoaşte!
  • Translation: "A friend in need is a friend indeed."

• Prostul care nu-i fudul, parcă n-ar fi prost destul!
  • Translation: "The fool who's not conceited, is not fool enough!"

• Râde ciob de oală spartă.
  • Translation: "The splinter laughs at the broken pot."

• S-a dus baba cu colacii!
  • Translation: The granny handing pretzels, is gone.
  • Meaning: "There goes your chance!"
  • Origin: It's a refrence to a traditional holiday similar to Halloween. Children gather outside in the night and they go around from house to house asking for "colaci"(a romanian form of pretzel)

• "S-a dus bou... şi s-a-ntors vacă !" (tatǎl lui Nică, în Ion Creangă-Amintiri din copilărie)
  • Translation: "He went as an ox and came back as a cow."
  • Meaning: Used for a person that spends a lot of time and money to study and gains nothing. (in Romanian, ox/cow is used for a person who lacks judgement, a fool)
  • Origin: Wealthy romanians used to send their spoiled kids to Paris to study, but most of them came back unchanged or worse.

• Sângele, apă nu se face.
  • Translation: "Blood doesn't turn into water."
  • Meaning: Someone may have an advantage because of being someone else's relative.

• Stăpânul învaţă sluga hoţ.
  • Translation: "The master turns the servant into a thief."

• Te îneci ca ţiganu' la mal.
  • Translation: "You drown at the shore like the gypsy."
  • Meaning: (referring to an assignment) you pass the most tasks, but you get stuck on an easy one near the end.

• Totu-i bine cand se termină cu bine.
  • Translation: "All is well that ends well."

• Satu' arde şi baba se piaptănă.
  • Translation: "The village is burning and the granny is combing her hair."

• Un prost încurcă, şi zece înţelepţi nu pot descurca"
  • Translation: "One fool tangles and ten wise men cannot untangle."

• Necazul nu vine singur niciodată!.
  • Translation: "The trouble never comes alone."

• Unde nu intră soarele pe geam, intră doctorul pe uşă.
  • Translation: "If the sun doesn't come through the window, the doctor will come through the door."

• Viaţa asta-i bun pierdut, de n-o trăieşti cum ai fi vrut!" (G.Cosbuc-Poezii, Decebal către popor)
  • Translation: "Life is a waste if you didn't live as you would have wanted to!"

• Vino necazule, dar vino singur!
  • Translation: "Come trouble, but come alone (trouble never comes alone)!"

• Din coada de caine sata de matasa nu faci!
  • Translation: "Can't turn dogs tail into a silk scarf!"

• Vorba multă, sărăcia omului
  • Translation: "Too many words are the poverty of mankind"

• Nu lăsa pe mâine ce poţi face azi.
  • Translation: "Don't leave for tomorrow, what you can do today."

Seth

*this post is just informative.Seth entity was (apparently,from my point of view) residing on the lower mental plane.
However,is always good to have a link to his ideas of reality.
-added by danny-
There are very little useful quotes (as tranformation)but the link is here for the researchers,like me.

http://www.nirvikalpa.com/content.php?page=seth3

Seth explains some basic rules of how the universe works.But while I can understand him,I am not sure many could,even if he tried his best.He is also not enlightened ,but then this is not the point,since it's my opinion only.
Opinions are like assholes..everybody has one(Mark Twain).
The correct,historical saying of Mark Twain is this,however:
Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one but no one truly wants to look at anybody else's."
-added by danny-

*note* nice story about Shankara .
-added by danny-
.................

Timeless Wisdom

Brahman Is No More Than This!
Excerpted from Daughters of the Goddess:
The Women Saints of India, by Linda Johnsen

Shankara was one of the first yogis to widely publicize the idea that the world is maya, an illusion, and that we are in reality all one. For most of his life, though, he discounted the feminine principle, considering anything to do with matter or desire a lower order of being.

One day late in his short life, as he was entering a Shiva temple, he found an hysterical low-caste woman blocking his way. She was standing over the corpse of her dead husband, sobbing wildly. Shankara found the scene both distasteful and inauspicious. "Get out of my way!" he commanded.

The illiterate woman looked at him suspiciously. "Aren't you the teacher who says that everything is Brahman [the ultimate, supreme Reality], everything is God, there is no impurity anywhere?" she retorted bitterly. "If I am not impure, why should I get out of your way? If I am the all pervading reality, how can I get out of your way?"

Shankara was too shocked to reply.

The woman was not done with him. "Your mighty Brahman is no more than this!" she shouted, pointing to her dead husband.

In that moment the great thinker's mind burst open. He remembered one of the most dramatic images from India's vast religious iconography: the raging goddess Kali stamping on the corpse of the God Shiva. Without Her power, Shiva himself is not able to stir, say the Shaktas, the worshippers of the Goddess. In that fraction of a second, Shankara, realized that in neglecting the Goddess, he had missed the very essence of life. Imagining Brahman as totally abstract, unalloyed, unmoving consciousness, he had forgotten the fecund, creative, active living aspect of reality, the feminine. Now Kali herself was manifesting to remind him of her glory.

To the horror of his disciples, Shankaracharya got down on his knees and clasped the woman's feet, thanking her for the lesson. "No you are not impure. It was my mind that was impure. I have never met a teacher greater than you."

Shankara gave up writing philosophy and spent the last few years of his life composing ecstatic poems to the Goddess, some of which are still regarded as among the most beautiful verses in the Sanskrit language.

Trusting In Mind

*note* this poem was written by a ZEN Master.His name was Seng T'san.
-added by danny-
...............

The Great Way is not difficult,
Just don't pick and choose.
If you cut off all likes or dislikes
Everything is clear like space.

Make the slightest distinction
And heaven and earth are set apart.
If you wish to see the truth,
Don't think for or against.

Likes and dislikes
Are the mind's disease.
Without understanding the deep meaning
You cannot still your thoughts.

It is clear like space,
Nothing missing, nothing extra.
If you want something
You cannot see things as they are.

Outside, don't get tangled in things.
Inside, don't get lost in emptiness.
Be still and become One
And all opposites disappear.

If you stop moving to become still,
This stillness always moves.
If you hold on to opposites,
How can you know One?

If you don't understand One,
This and that cannot function.
Denied, the world asserts itself.
Pursued, emptiness is lost.

The more you think and talk,
The more you lose the Way.
Cut off all thinking
And pass freely anywhere.

Return to the root and understand.
Chase appearances and lose the source.
One moment of enlightenment
Illuminates the emptiness before you.

Emptiness changing into things
Is only our deluded view.
Do not seek the truth.
Only put down your opinions.

Do not live in the world of opposites.
Be careful! Never go that way.
If you make right and wrong,
Your mind is lost in confusion.

Two comes from One,
But do not cling even to this One.
When your mind is undisturbed
The ten thousand things are without fault.

No fault, no ten thousand things,
No disturbance, no mind.
No world, no one to see it.
No one to see it, no world.

This becomes this because of that.
That becomes that because of this.
If you wish to understand both,
See them as originally one emptiness.

In emptiness the two are the same,
And each holds the ten thousand things.
If you no longer see them as different,
How can you prefer one to another?

The Way is calm and wide,
Not easy, not difficult.
But small minds get lost.
Hurrying, they fall behind.

Clinging, they go too far,
Sure to take a wrong turn,
Just let it be! In the end,
Nothing goes, nothing stays.

Follow nature and become one with the Way,
Free and easy and undisturbed.
Tied by your thoughts, you lose the truth,
Become heavy, dull, and unwell.

Not well, the mind is troubled.
Then why hold or reject anything?
If you want to get the One Vehicle
Do not despise the world of the senses.

When you do not despise the six senses,
That is already enlightenment.
The wise do not act.
The ignorant bind themselves.

In true Dharma there is no this or that,
So why blindly chase your desires?
Using mind to stir up the mind
Is the original mistake.

Peaceful and troubled are only thinking.
Enlightenment has no likes or dislikes.
All opposites arise
From faulty views.

Illusions, flowers in the air --
Why try to grasp them?
Win, lose, right, wrong --
Put it all down!

If the eye never sleeps,
Dreams disappear by themselves.
If the mind makes no distinctions,
The ten thousand things are one essence.

Understand this dark essence
And be free from entanglements.
See the ten thousand things as equal
And you return to your original nature

Enlightened beings everywhere
All enter this source.
This source is beyond time and space.
One moment is ten thousand years.

Even if you cannot see it,
The whole universe is before your eyes.

Infinitely small is infinitely large:
No boundaries, no differences.
Infinitely large is infinitely small:
Measurements do not matter here.

What is is the same as what is not.
What is not is the same as what is.
Where it is not like this,
Don't bother staying.

One is all,
All is one.
When you see things like this,
You do not worry about being incomplete.

Trust and Mind are not two.
Not-two is trusting the Mind.

Words and speech don't cut it,
Can't now, never could, won't ever.

People don’t know what this Yoga is

*note* great talk from Shri Mataji(the founder of Sahaja Yoga) here...many more talks on the link above.Enjoy!
-added by Danny-
........................

Question: Shri Mataji, don’t you know many people that want more of yoga than yoga can give?

Interviewer: Shri Mataji, don’t you know many people that want more of yoga than yoga can give.

Shri Mataji: You see, yoga is a big misnomer in the West, people don’t know what this yoga is. Because even if you read Patanjali, it is said that you have to get to your Self–Realization and then how to grow in your Self–Realization. Once you start growing in your Self–Realization, you develop such a personality that you see the whole world as one. You reach your wholesomeness. And when you reach your wholesomeness the complete balance and the curative sense comes in. Like you see, if there is a problem in my left finger, I’ll try to rub it, all right, I rub it and I soothe myself, whom am I helping, whom am I supporting, what is a developing country, what is a developed country, you see? You need something from the developing and you have to have the developed. So the whole thing is, that we haven’t got the wholesomeness. We are not integrated. The whole world is not integrated so far. It’s only possible when you reach that point, which is within us, which is collectively conscious, and that is the Spirit. Once you reach that point, you hit the collective consciousness, and when you become collective, you understand the wholesomeness of yourself.

So what people are seeking here in yoga, is really something that is brought from there by people who don’t understand. Yoga means union with the Divine, it means union with the Divine. When you become one with the Divine, the Divine starts flowing through you and you become part and parcel of the whole. You become. It’s not question of just taking a certificate. It’s not running on the street or standing on your heads, it’s not yoga. It’s just one 16th and 16th part of something we bid that you have to understand that, if there is a problem, physical problem, what exercise particularly you have to do. But that, too, is only possible when you get your Realization. Before Realization you don’t know. Where you are sick people don’t know. They go mad, but they don’t know that they are getting mad.

So the craziness that you find or the imbalances you find is lost, because we have just turned our faces to that thing called the Spirit, because we could not reach there with our mental projection. So what we have to do, is just take to this new dimensional approach by which you become that thing that you have to become, for which you have come on this earth. And that, if you get it, you are there.

You have so many dimensions. I mean now for me, you know, I’m a wife of a person who has to shake sometimes hands with 600 people on one side (Shri Mataji laughing) and I have to deal with people on that level, and that sort of people and I am also doing this, I have decorated my house. I mean, I can do 1000 and one thing and still I’m very relaxed person.

Interviewer: Yeah, yeah.

Shri Mataji: So what you have to achieve is everything what we talk of, see, now we talk of democracy, we talk of communism, though both are artificial to my mind, because unless and until you have something, how are you a capitalist? You have nothing. What do we have? We have nothing but plastics. What do we have? You see, when you have something like I would say, I’m a great capitalist because I have all the powers, (Shri Mataji laughing) all right and I’m the greatest communist, because I must distribute. So, in essence, I am the real capitalist and a real communist. So all your ideas that are, are really the glimpses of that great truth. Communism is - I’m the greatest communist, I’m the greatest capitalist. All your ideas about economics is, now economics is so sensible, that it says that in general wants are not satiable, in particular they are. So that means the want, that means this matter is not going to give you satisfaction. So where is the satisfaction? It is in the Spirit. You see, everything aims at that, points at that. But one should see the point.

Interviewer: Thank you!

Shri Mataji: May God bless you! Thank you!

The Art of Peace

*note*..these are the sayings of the famous aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba..was he an enlightened being?..I think he has seen the truth,as satori(the japanese name for partial realization).
Let's examine the following link a bit,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morihei_Ueshiba#Onisaburo_Deguchi.27s_spiritual_influence
it says:

The real birth of Aikido came as the result of three instances of spiritual awakening that Ueshiba experienced. The first happened in 1925, after Ueshiba had defeated a naval officer's bokken (wooden katana) attacks unarmed and without hurting the officer. Ueshiba then walked to his garden and had a spiritual awakening.

“

...I felt the universe suddenly quake, and that a golden spirit sprang up from the ground, veiled my body, and changed my body into a golden one. At the same time my body became light. I was able to understand the whispering of the birds, and was clearly aware of the mind of God, the creator of the universe. At that moment I was enlightened: the source of budo is God's love - the spirit of loving protection for all beings... Budo is not the felling of an opponent by force; nor is it a tool to lead the world to destruction with arms. True Budo is to accept the spirit of the universe, keep the peace of the world, correctly produce, protect and cultivate all beings in nature.[12]

”

His second experience occurred in 1940 when,

"Around 2am as I was performing misogi, I suddenly forgot all the martial techniques I had ever learned. The techniques of my teachers appeared completely new. Now they were vehicles for the cultivation of life, knowledge, and virtue, not devices to throw people with."^{[citation needed]}

His third experience was in 1942 during the worst fighting of WWII, Ueshiba had a vision of the "Great Spirit of Peace".^[2]

"The Way of the Warrior has been misunderstood. It is not a means to kill and destroy others. Those who seek to compete and better one another are making a terrible mistake. To smash, injure, or destroy is the worst thing a human being can do. The real Way of a Warrior is to prevent such slaughter - it is the Art of Peace, the power of love."

In any case,he was what he was.Therefore,I post some excerpts from his book,The art of Peace,translated by John Stevens.But please remember,he was concentrated on form(aikido is a martial art)...not the mind.Be aware that till his last days he never explained anything beyond the form(material) realm.Whatever the insights he had,he could not share them,and he took them with him,when he died.BECAUSE you must experience it by yourself,and this is beyond words.It's about transmission.It's about the stuff the dreams are made of:)
-added by Danny-
................................................

One
The Art of Peace begins with you. Work on yourself and your appointed task in the Art of Peace. Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, a body that can be trained in some manner, a suitable path to follow. You are here for no other purpose than to realize your inner divinity and manifest your innate enlightenment. Foster peace in your own life and then apply the Art to all that you encounter

Two
One does not need buildings, money, power, or status to practice the Art of Peace. Heaven is right where you are standing, and that is the place to train.

Three
All things, material and spiritual, originate from one source and are related as if they were one family. The past, present, and future are all contained in the life force. The universe emerged and developed from one source, and we evolved through the optimal process of unification and harmonization.

Four
The Art of Peace is medicine for a sick world. There is evil and disorder in the world because people have forgotten that all things emanate from one source. Return to that source and leave behind all self-centered thoughts, petty desires, and anger. Those who are possessed by nothing possess everything.

Five
If you have not
Linked yourself
To true emptiness,
You will never understand
The Art of Peace.

Six
The Art of Peace functions everywhere on earth, in realms ranging from the vastness of space down to the tiniest plants and animals. The life force is all-pervasive and its strength boundless. The Art of Peace allows us to perceive and tap into that tremendous reserve of universal energy.

Seven
Eight forces sustain creation:
Movement and stillness,
Solidification and fluidity,
Extension and contraction,
Unification and division.

Eight
Life is growth. If we stop growing, technically and spiritually, we are as good as dead. The Art of Peace is a celebration of the bonding of heaven, earth, and humankind. It is all that is true, good, and beautiful.

Nine
Now and again, it is necessary to seclude yourself among deep mountains and hidden valleys to restore your link to the source of life. Breathe in and let yourself soar to the ends of the universe; breathe out and bring the cosmos back inside. Next, breathe up all fecundity and vibrancy of the earth. Finally, blend the breath of heaven and the breath of earth with your own, becoming the Breath of Life itself.

Ten
All the principles of heaven and earth are living inside you. Life itself is the truth, and this will never change. Everything in heaven and earth breathes. Breath is the thread that ties creation together. When the myriad variations in the universal breath can be sensed, the individual techniques of the Art of Peace are born.

Eleven
Consider the ebb and flow of the tide. When waves come to strike the shore, they crest and fall, creating a sound. your breath should follow the same pattern, absorbing the entire universe in your belly with each inhalation. Know that we all have access to four treasures: the energy of the sun and moon, the breath of heaven, the breath of earth, and the ebb and flow of the tide.

Twelve
Those who practice the Art of Peace must protect the domain of Mother Nature, the divine reflection of creation, and keep it lovely and fresh. Warriorship gives birth to natural beauty. The subtle techniques of a warrior arise as naturally as the appearance of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Warriorship is none other than the vitality that sustains all life.

Thirteen
When life is victorious, there is birth; when it is thwarted, there is death. A warrior is always engaged in a life-and-death struggle for Peace.

Fourteen
Contemplate the workings of this world, listen to the words of the wise, and take all that is good as your own. With this as your base, open your own door to truth. Do not overlook the truth that is right before you. Study how water flows in a valley stream, smoothly and freely between the rocks. Also learn from holy books and wise people. Everything - even mountains, rivers, plants and trees - should be your teacher.

Fifteen
Create each day anew by clothing yourself with heaven and earth, bathing yourself with wisdom and love, and placing yourself in the heart of Mother Nature.

Sixteen
Do not fail
To learn from
The pure voice of an
Ever-flowing mountain stream
Splashing over the rocks.

Seventeen
Peace originates with the flow of things - its heart is like the movement of the wind and waves. The Way is like the veins that circulate blood through our bodies, following the natural flow of the life force. If you are separated in the slightest from that divine essence, you are far off the path.

Eighteen
Your heart is full of fertile seeds, waiting to sprout. Just as a lotus flower springs from the mire to bloom splendidly, the interaction of the cosmic breath causes the flower of the spirit to bloom and bear fruit in this world.

Nineteen
Study the teachings of the pine tree, the bamboo, and the plum blossom. The pine is evergreen, firmly rooted, and venerable. The bamboo is strong, resilient, unbreakable. The plum blossom is hardy, fragrant, and elegant.

Twenty
Always keep your mind as bright and clear as the vast sky, the great ocean, and the highest peak, empty of all thoughts. Always keep your body filled with light and heat. Fill yourself with the power of wisdom and enlightenment.

Twenty One
As soon as you concern yourself with the “good” and “bad” of your fellows, you create an opening in your heart for maliciousness to enter. Testing, competing with, and criticizing others weaken and defeat you.

Twenty Two
The penetrating brilliance of swords
Wielded by followers of the Way
Strikes at the evil enemy
Lurking deep within
Their own souls and bodies

Twenty Three
The Art of Peace is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. on occasion the Voice of Peace resounds like thunder, jolting human beings out of their stupor.

Twenty Four
Crystal clear,
Sharp and bright,
The sacred sword
Allows no opening
For evil to roost.

Twenty Five
To practice properly the Art of Peace, you must:
Calm the spirit and return to the source.
Cleanse the body and spirit by removing all malice, selfishness, and desire.
Be ever-grateful for the gifts received from the universe, your family, Mother Nature, and your fellow human beings.

Twenty Six
The Art of Peace is based on Four Great Virtues: Bravery, Wisdom, Love, and Friendship, symbolized by Fire, Heaven, Earth, and Water.

Twenty Seven
The essence of the Art of Peace is to cleanse yourself of maliciousness, to get in tune with your environment, and to clear your path of all obstacles and barriers.

Twenty Eight
The only cure for materialism is the cleansing of the six senses (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind). If the senses are clogged, one’s perception is stifled. The more it is stifled, the more contaminated the senses become. This creates disorder in the world, and that is the greatest evil of all. Polish the heart, free the six senses and let them function without obstruction, and your entire body and soul will glow.

Twenty Nine
All life is a manifestation of the spirit, the manifestation of love. And the Art of Peace is the purest form of that principle. A warrior is charged with bringing a halt to all contention and strife. Universal love functions in many forms; each manifestation should be allowed free expression. The Art of Peace is true democracy.

Thirty
Each and every master, regardless of the era or place, heard the call and attained harmony with heaven and earth. There are many paths leading to the top of Mount Fuji, but there is only one summit - love.

Thirty One
Loyalty and devotion lead to bravery. Bravery leads to the spirit of self-sacrifice. The spirit of self-sacrifice creates trust in the power of love.

Thirty Two
Economy is the basis of society. When the economy is stable, society develops. The ideal economy combines the spiritual and the material, and the best commodities to trade in are sincerity and love.

Thirty Three
The Art of Peace does not rely on weapons or brute force to succeed; instead we put ourselves in tune with the universe, maintain peace in our own realms, nurture life, and prevent death and destruction. The true meaning of the term samurai is one who serves and adheres to the power of love.

Thirty Four
Foster and polish
The warrior spirit
While serving in the world;
Illuminate the path
According to your inner light.

Thirty Five
The Path of Peace is exceedingly vast, reflecting the grand design of the hidden and manifest worlds. A warrior is a living shrine of the divine, one who serves that grand purpose.

Thirty Six
Your mind should be in harmony with the functioning of the universe; your body should be in tune with the movement of the universe; body and mind should be bound as one, unified with the activity of the universe.

Thirty Seven
Even though our path is completely different from the warrior arts of the past, it is not necessary to abandon totally the old ways. Absorb venerable traditions into this Art by clothing them with fresh garments, and build on the classic styles to create better forms.

Thirty Eight
Daily training in the Art of Peace allows you inner divinity to shine brighter and brighter. Do not concern yourself with the right and wrong of others. Do not be calculating or act unnaturally. Keep your mind set on the Art of Peace, and do not criticize other teachers or traditions. The Art of Peace never restrains, restricts, or shackles anything. It embraces all and purifies everything.

Thirty Nine
Practice the Art of Peace sincerely, and evil thoughts and deeds will naturally disappear. The only desire that should remain is the thirst for more and more training in the Way.

Forty
Those who are enlightened never stop forging themselves. The realizations of such masters cannot be expressed well in words or by theories. The most perfect actions echo the patterns found in nature.

Forty One
Day after day
Train your heart out,
Refining your technique:
Use the One to strike the Many!
That is the discipline of the Warrior.

Forty Two
The Way of a Warrior
Cannot be encompassed
By words or in letters:
Grasp the essence
And move on toward realization!

Forty Three
The purpose of training is to tighten up the slack, toughen the body, and polish the spirit.

Forty Four
Iron is full of impurities that weaken it; through forging, it becomes steel and is transformed into razor-sharp sword. Human beings develop in the same fashion.

Forty Five
From ancient times,
Deep learning and valor
Have been the two pillars of the Path:
Through the virtue of training,
Enlighten both body and soul.

Forty Six
Instructors can impart only a fraction of the teaching. It is through your own devoted practice that the mysteries of the Art of Peace are brought to life.

Forty Seven
The Way of a Warrior is based on humanity, love, and sincerity; the heart of martial valor is true bravery, wisdom, love, and friendship. Emphasis on the physical aspects of warriorship is futile, for the power of the body is always limited.

Forty Eight
A true warrior is always armed with the three things: the radiant sword of pacification; the mirror of bravery, wisdom, and friendship; and the precious jewel of enlightenment.

Forty Nine
The heart of a human being is no different from the soul of heaven and earth. In your practice always keep in your thoughts the interaction of heaven and earth, water and fire, yin and yang.

Fifty
The Art of Peace is the principle of nonresistance. Because it is nonresistant, it is victorious from the beginning. Those with evil intentions or contentious thoughts are instantly vanquished. The Art of Peace is invincible because it contends with nothing.

Fifty One
There are no contests in the Art of Peace. A true warrior is invincible because he or she contests with nothing. Defeat means to defeat the mind of contention that we harbor within.

Fifty Two
To injure an opponent is to injure yourself. To control aggression without inflicting injury is the Art of Peace.

Fifty Three
The totally awakened warrior can freely utilize all elements contained in heaven and earth. The true warrior learns how to correctly perceive the activity of the universe and how to transform martial techniques into vehicles of purity, goodness, and beauty. A warrior’s mind and body must be permeated with enlightened wisdom and deep calm.

Fifty Four
Always practice the Art of Peace in a vibrant and joyful manner.

Fifty Five
It is necessary to develop a strategy that utilizes all the physical conditions and elements that are directly at hand. The best strategy relies upon an unlimited set of responses.

Fifty Six
A good stance and posture reflect a proper state of mind.

Fifty Seven
The key to good technique is to keep your hands, feet, and hips straight and centered. If you are centered, you can move freely. The physical center is your belly; if your mind is set there as well, you are assured of victory in any endeavor.

Fifty Eight
Move like a beam of light:
Fly like lightning,
Strike like thunder,
Whirl in circles around
A stable center.

Fifty Nine
Techniques employ four qualities that reflect the nature of our world. Depending on the circumstance, you should be: hard as a diamond, flexible as a willow, smooth-flowing like water, or as empty as space.

Sixty
If your opponent strikes with fire, counter with water, becoming completely fluid and free-flowing. Water, by its nature, never collides with or breaks against anything. On the contrary, it swallows up any attack harmlessly.

Sixty One
Functioning harmoniously together, right and left give birth to all techniques. The left hand takes hold of life and death; the right hand controls it. The four limbs of the body are the four pillars of heaven, and manifest the eight directions, yin and yang, inner and outer.

Sixty Two
Manifest yang
In your right hand,
Balance it with
The yin of your left,
And guide your partner.

Sixty Three
The techniques of the Art of Peace are neither fast nor slow, nor are they inside or outside. They transcend time and space.

Sixty Four
Spring forth from the Great Earth;
Billow like Great Waves;
Stand like a tree, sit like a rock;
Use One to strike All.
Learn and forget!

Sixty Five
When an opponent comes forward, move in and greet him; if he wants to pull back, send him on his way.

Sixty Six
The body should be triangular, the mind circular. The triangle represents the generation of energy and is the most stable physical posture. The circle symbolizes serenity and perfection, the source of unlimited techniques. The square stands for solidity, the basis of applied control.

Sixty Seven
Always try to be in communion with heaven and earth; then the world will appear in its true light. Self-conceit will vanish, and you can blend with any attack.

Sixty Eight
If your heart is large enough to envelop your adversaries, you can see right through them and avoid their attacks. And once you envelop them, you will be able to guide them along the path indicated to you by heaven and earth.

Sixty Nine
Free of weakness,
No-mindedly ignore
The sharp attacks
Of your enemies:
Step in and act!

Seventy
Do not look upon this world with fear and loathing. Bravely face whatever the gods offer.

Seventy One
Each day of human life contains joy and anger, pain and pleasure, darkness and light, growth and decay. Each moment is etched with nature’s grand design - do not try to deny or oppose the cosmic order of things.

Seventy Two
Protectors of the world
And guardians of the Ways
Of gods and buddhas,
The techniques of Peace
Enable us to meet every challenge.

Seventy Three
Life itself is always a trial. In training, you must test and polish yourself in order to face the great challenges of life. Transcend the realm of life and death, and then you will be able to make your way calmly and safely through any crisis that confronts you.

Seventy Four
Be grateful even for hardship, setbacks, and bad people. Dealing with such obstacles is an essential part of training in the Art of Peace.

Seventy Five
Failure is the key to success;
Each mistake teaches us something.

Seventy Six
In extreme situations, the entire universe becomes our foe; at such critical times, unity of mind and technique is essential - do not let your heart waver!

Seventy Seven
At instant
A warrior
Confronts a foe,
All things
Come into focus.

Seventy Eight
Even when called out
By a single foe,
Remain on guard,
For you are always surrounded
By a host of enemies.

Seventy Nine
The Art of Peace is to fulfill that which is lacking.

Eighty
One should be prepared to receive ninety-nine percent of an enemy’s attack and stare death right in the face in order to illumine the Path.

Eighty One
In our techniques we enter completely into, blend totally with, and control firmly an attack. Strength resides where one’s ki is concentrated and stable; confusion and maliciousness arise when ki stagnates.

Eighty Two
There are two type of ki: ordinary ki and true ki. Ordinary ki is coarse and heavy; true ki is light and versatile. In order to perform well, you have to liberate yourself from ordinary ki and permeate your organs with true ki. That is the basis of powerful technique.

Eighty Three
In the Art of Peace we never attack. An attack is proof that one is out of control. Never run away from any kind of challenge, but do not try to suppress or control an opponent unnaturally. Let attackers come any way they like and then blend with them. Never chase after opponents. Redirect each attack and get firmly behind it.

Eighty Four
Seeing me before him,
The enemy attacks,
But by that time
I am already standing
Safely behind him.

Eighty Five
When attacked, unify the upper, middle, and lower parts of your body. Enter, turn, and blend with your opponent, front and back, right and left.

Eighty Six
Your spirit is the true shield.

Eighty Seven
Opponents confront us continually, but actually there is no opponent there. Enter deeply into an attack and neutralize it as you draw that misdirected force into your own sphere.

Eighty Eight
Do not stare into the eyes of your opponent: he may mesmerize you. Do not fix your gaze on his sword: he may intimidate you. Do not focus on your opponent at all: he may absorb your energy. The essence of training is to bring your opponent completely into your sphere. Then you can stand where you like.

Eighty Nine
Even the most powerful human being has a limited sphere of strength. Draw him outside of that sphere and into your own, and his strength will dissipate.

Ninety
Left and right,
Avoid all
Cuts and parries.
Seize your opponents’ minds
And scatter them all!

Ninety One
The real Art of Peace is not to sacrifice a single one of your warriors to defeat an enemy. Vanquish your foes by always keeping yourself in a safe and unassailable position; then no one will suffer any losses. The Way of a Warrior, the Art of Politics, is to stop trouble before it starts. It consists in defeating your adversaries spiritually by making them realize the folly of their actions. The Way of a Warrior is to establish harmony.

Ninety Two
Master the divine techniques
Of the Art of Peace,
And no enemy
Will dare to
Challenge you.

Ninety Three
In your training do not be in a hurry, for it takes a minimum of ten years to master the basics and advance to the first rung. Never think of yourself as an all-knowing, perfected master; you must continue to train daily with your friends and students and progress together in the Art of Peace.

Ninety Four
Progress comes
To those who
Train and train;
Reliance on secret techniques
Will get you nowhere.

Ninety Five
Fiddling with this
And that technique
Is of no avail.
Simply act decisively
Without reserve!

Ninety Six
If you perceive the true form of heaven and earth, you will be enlightened to your own true form. If you are enlightened about a certain principle, you can put it into practice. After each practical application, reflect on your efforts. Progress continually like this.

Ninety Seven
The Art of Peace can be summed up like this: True victory is self-victory; let that day arrive quickly! “True victory” means unflinching courage; “self-victory” symbolizes unflagging effort; and “let that day arrive quickly” represents the glorious moment of triumph in the here and now.

Ninety Eight
Cast off limiting thoughts and return to true emptiness. Stand in the midst of the Great Void. This is the secret of the Way of a Warrior.

Ninety Nine
To truly implement the Art of Peace, you must be able to sport freely in the manifest, hidden, and divine realms.

One Hundred
If you comprehend
The Art of Peace,
This difficult path,
Just as it is,
Envelops the circle of heaven.

One Hundred One
The techniques of the Way of Peace change constantly; every encounter is unique, and the appropriate response should emerge naturally. Today’s techniques will be different tomorrow. Do not get caught up with the form and appearance of a challenge. The Art of Peace has no form - it is the study of the spirit.

One Hundred Two
Ultimately, you must forget about technique. The further you progress, the fewer teachings there are. The Great Path is really No Path.

One Hundred Three
The Art of Peace that I practice has room for each of the world’s eight million gods, and I cooperate with them all. The God of Peace is very great and enjoins all that is divine and enlightened in every land.

One Hundred Four
The Art of Peace is a form of prayer that generates light and heat. Forget about your little self, detach yourself from objects, and you will radiate light and warmth. Light is wisdom; warmth is compassion.

One Hundred Five
Construction of shrine and temple buildings is not enough. Establish yourself as a living buddha image. We all should be transformed into goddesses of compassion or victorious buddhas.

One Hundred Six
Rely on Peace
To activate your
Manifold powers;
Pacify your environment
And create a beautiful world.

One Hundred Seven
The Divine is not something high above us. It is in heaven, it is in earth, it is inside of us.

One Hundred Eight
Unite yourself to the cosmos, and the thought of transcendence will disappear. Transcendence belongs to the profane world. When all trace of transcendence vanishes, the true person - the Divine Being - is manifest. Empty yourself and let the Divine function.

One Hundred Nine
You cannot see or touch the Divine with your gross senses. The Divine is within you, not somewhere else. Unite yourself to the Divine, and you will be able to perceive gods wherever you are, but do not try to grasp or cling to them.

One Hundred Ten
The Divine does not like to be shut up in a building. The Divine likes to be out in the open. It is right here in this very body. Each one of us is a miniature universe, a living shrine.

One Hundred Eleven
When you bow deeply to the universe, it bows back; when you call out the name of God, it echoes inside you.

One Hundred Twelve
The Art of Peace is the religion that is not a religion; it perfects and completes all religions.

One Hundred Thirteen
The Path is exceedingly vast. From ancient times to the present day, even the greatest sages were unable to perceive and comprehend the entire truth; the explanation and teachings of masters and saints express only part of the whole. It is not possible for anyone to speak of such things in their entirety. Just head for the light and heat, learn from the gods, and through the virtue of devoted practice of the Art of Peace, become one with the Divine.

One Hundred Fourteen

The divine beauty
Of heaven and earth!
All creation,
Members of
One family.

The mountain of truth

*note* every now and then a great story teller appears..and Vernon Howard was one of them.So I post more of his wisdom here.
-added by danny-
.....................................................
The Mountain of Truth

A king once ruled over a nation of unhappy people. Wanting to help his subjects, the king asked a wise man, “Is there a way to relieve my people of their sorrows?”

“Yes, there is,” replied the wise man. “As you know, just outside of town there is a height known as the Mountain of Truth. Ask everyone to leave their troubles at the base of the mountain. That is all they need do.”

The King issued a joyous proclamation. Everyone was invited to bring his problems to the Mountain of Truth at once. Every kind of difficulty could be left there, including Sorrow, Conflict, Fear, Tension, Worry and Hostility.

At the end of twenty-four hours, the king was stunned. Out of his thousands of subjects, only ten had left their miseries at the mountain.

“This is incredible,” he told the wise man. “I don’t understand. Everyone assured me he wanted to get rid of unhappiness.”

The wise man nodded. “I knew this would happen, but also knew you would never believe me until you saw for yourself. You see, most people secretly love their suffering. Conflict and hostility provide excitement, a false feeling of life. Our first task is to show them the difference between artificial life and true life.”

...................

Psychic Sleep

Psychic sleep is the cause of every human problem and disaster. It is sleeping people who suffer from heartache and loneliness, from fear and violence. Only self-awakening can end these sorrows. However — and please emphasize this point in your mind — man does not know he is asleep. So deep is his immersion in psychic hypnosis, that he instantly denies his actual condition. In other words, he does not know that he does not know. He spends his entire life under the gigantic illusion of being happy and productive, never once facing the terror in which he lives. Man huddles fearfully in a haunted house which he calls a castle.
Have you ever been in a room full of people when someone behaved foolishly or childishly? You sensed that he did not know how he appeared to others. In fact, he may have believed he was behaving cleverly or courageously. Everyone in the room saw him as he really was, except the man himself. That is a perfect example of human hypnosis, of psychic unawareness.
The ancient philosopher, Socrates, provided a classic illustration of man’s mental sleep. He told about a group of men who were huddled together in a deep cave. Their only light was a fire that blazed in the center of the cavern. The fire cast strange shadows against the wall of the cave, frightening the prisoners. So the men sat there in terror and confusion.
One of the prisoners made up his mind to explore the cave. When doing so, he found a secret tunnel. Following it all the way, he finally found himself in the outer world of sunshine and beauty.
We will now look at a chief characteristic of spiritual sleep. When this is understood, all the pieces of life fall into place, revealing the whole picture. Man has a false idea of who he is. He has an illusory sense of identity. This false self is manufactured out of self-flattering imaginations and out of self-pleasing labels. He labels himself as a successful man, or as an intelligent thinker, or as a human being with lofty motives. But these are mere ideas he has about himself and he is not these ideas. We can easily prove this.
Whenever a man feels depressed or irritated, it is simply because his false identity seems not to be confirmed. Both these reactions are false, so man is their slave.
Have you ever noticed how nervous people get when their pet ideas are challenged? Let this be a clue for you. By patient self-investigation we discover who we are not, and that ends the anxiety of not knowing who we are.
To summarize this vital point, man wrongly believes that he possesses a separate self, an individual ego. This false idea causes fear, loneliness, neurosis. It throws him into conflict with other people who are also under the illusion of having separate selves. No man is apart from the whole, from the all. Man is one with the universe. Human beings are like dozens of ponds, each reflecting the light from the same moon. This is not philosophy, this is fact.

The terror of Edo....hahahaha

*note*....these are funny,yet full of wisdom stories in the zen tradition.
I post this as a reminder that LIFE it's not what YOU might think it is.
-added by danny-
.................................

Anger

When the Tesshu, a master of Zen, calligraphy and swordsmanship, was a young man he called on the Zen master Dokuon. Wishing to impress Dokuon he said, “The mind, the Buddha, and all sentient beings after all do not exist. The true nature of phenomenon is emptiness. There is no realisation, no delusion, no sagacity, no mediocrity, nothing to give and nothing to receive.

Dokuon promptly hit him with a bamboo stick. Tesshu became quite furious.

Dokuon said quietly: “If nothing exists, where did this anger come from?”

A Flexible Grip

Tesshu once met a street fighter nicknamed ‘The terror of Edo,’ who had had more than thirty sword fights without once being defeated. Tesshu asked him where he had learned his skill. The street fighter replied that he was entirely self taught.

“Then how did you succeed?” asked Tesshu.

“As soon as the fight began I would get close enough to touch the tip of my enemy’s sword with my own. If he held his sword stiffly I knew I could win easily, but if he held his sword in a flexible grip with a strong projection of ki, I didn’t take the risk of a fight. If I meet such a man I throw my sword at him and run away, and thus remain undefeated.”

The Assembly of the Cats

Once there was a sword master called Shoken, who lived in a house infested with a large rat. This rat was truly ferocious, and no matter how hard Shoken chased it with his bokuto he could not kill it. Fortunately, one of Shoken’s neighbours was a cat breeder who specialised in training his cats to kill rats. Shoken asked if he might borrow a cat to catch the rat.

The cat trainer gave Shoken a viscous ginger alley cat, a real street fighter with sharp claws. But when the cat came to face the rat, the rat stood it’s ground and the cat was afraid. Shoken returned the cat to the cat master.

“Must be some rat,” said the breeder, and gave Shoken a lean black and white cat. “This cat has had years of training, and is highly skilled.” The second cat fought with the rat, but the rat was able to beat it easily.

Shoken went back to the cat breeder, and retuned with a jet black cat. The black cat had a very strong presence, projecting a quiet confidence. “This cat has mastered flawless technique, and has developed his mind through meditation. His zanshin is truly powerful. This cat will get the rat,” the master had said. But this cat also was defeated.

When Shoken returned to the cat master, the master said. “Very well, this time I will give you the master of the cats. This cat was old and grey, and did not look so impressive. Shoken took the cat home and brought it to face the rat. The rat moved to attack the old cat, but the old cat sat quietly unconcerned. Suddenly the rat felt a slight tinge of fear. The rat hesitated, and suddenly the old cat reached out a claw and killed the rat with a single strike.

When Shoken brought the cat back to the breeder he asked him how it was that the old cat could kill the rat while the younger ones had such a hard time. “Come with me,” said the breeder, “I’m sure the cats will discuss this, and since cats know a great deal about martial arts I’m sure you will find their conversation interesting.” They listened in to the cats’ discussion.

The ginger cat stood up and said, “I am very tough.”

“Then why couldn’t you beat the rat? Because toughness is itself not enough. There will always be a tougher rat somewhere.” Said the old grey cat.

The black and white cat spoke. “I have had years of training and impeccable technique, why could I not beat the rat?” “Because, although your waza is brilliant, and although you have had many years in the dojo, this is not enough in a real fight.

“But I have perfected my body through training and my mind through meditation,” said the black cat, “I have flawless technique, and also have achieved enlightenment. Why did the rat defeat me?”

“Because, Kuroi-san, although your skill is indeed great, and you have both spiritual and physical power you are not without desire. When you faced the rat you had an object in your mind, you did not have mushin. The rat sensed this, and his intuition was better than yours. Because you did not have mushin you were unable to harmonise your strength, your technique and you consciousness. I was able to use all these three elements naturally and unconsciously to defeat the rat. This is why I was successful.

“But I know of another cat, in a village not far from here. His fur is snow white with age, and he’s not very strong looking. He doesn’t eat meat, but lives on vegetables and rice gruel, although he is known to take a little sake occasionally. He hasn’t caught a rat in years because the rats are all terrified of him! As soon as he walks into a house all the rats leave at once. Even in his sleep he chases away rats! We must all learn to be like him, beyond violence, beyond technique, beyond even the desire for skill.”

(Note that this is a variant on Neko no Myojutsu (The mysterious skill of the cat) written by Issai Chozan in 1727. The original story focuses more on the mental and spiritual attributes of the ideal warrior. It has been translated into English By Karl Friday and can be found in Keiko Shokon (Dianne Skoss (ed.) Koryu Books, New Jersey 2002)

*note*..the original can be found here

-added by danny-

http://www.auburn.edu/~wilsoug/Neko_no_Myojutsu.html
"

The Swordsman and the Cat¹

There was once a swordsman called Shōken, who was very much annoyed by a furious rat in his house. The rat was bold enough to come out of its hiding place even in the daytime, doing all kinds of mischief. Shōken made his pet cat go after it, but she was not its equal, and being bitten by it, she ran away screaming. The swordsman now hired some of the neighboring cats noted for their skill and courage in catching rats. They were let loose against the rat. Crouching in a corner, it watched the cats approach it and furiously attacked them one after another. The cats were terrified and all beat a retreat.

The master became desperate and tried to kill the rat himself. Taking up his wooden sword he approached it, but every effort of the experienced swordsman proved ineffectual, for the rat dodged his sword so skillfully that it seemed as to be flying through the air like a bird or even lightning. Before Shōken could follow its movement, it had already made a successful leap at his head. He was perspiring heavily and finally decide to give up the chase. As a last resort, he sent for the neighboring Cat widely known for her mysterious virtue as the most able rat-catcher. The Cat did not look in any way especially different from other cats that had been invited to fight the rat. The swordsman did not think very much of her, but let her go into the room where the rat was located. The Cat went in quietly and slowly as if she were not cognizant of any unusual scene in the room. The rat, however, was extremely terrified at the sight of the approaching object and stayed motionless, almost stupefied, in the corner. The Cat almost nonchalantly went for the rat and came out carrying it by the neck.

In the evening, all the cats who had participated in the rat-catching had a grand session at Shōken's house, and respectfully asked the great Cat to take the seat of honor. They made profound bows before her and said: “We are all noted for valor and cunning, but never realized that there was such an extraordinary rat in the world. None of us was able to do anything with it until you came; and how easily you carried the day! We all wish you to divulge your secrets for our benefit, but before that let us see how much we all know about the art of fighting rats.”

The black cat came forward and said: “I was born in a family reputed for its skill in the art. Since my kitten days I have trained myself with a view to becoming a great rat-catcher. I am able to leap over a screen as high as seven feet; I know how to squeeze myself through a tiny hole which allows a rat only. I am proficient in performing all kinds of acrobatics. I am also clever at making the rats think that I am sound asleep, but I know how to strike them as soon as they come within my reach. Even those running over the beam cannot escape me. It is really a shame that I had to retreat before that old rat today.”

The old veteran Cat said: “What you have learned is the technique of the art. Your mind is ever conscious of planning how to combat the opponent. Th reason why the ancient masters devised the techniques is to acquaint us with the proper method of accomplishing the work, and the method is naturally simple and effective, implying all the essential points of the art. Those who follow the master fail to grasp his principle and are to busily occupied with improving their technical cleverness and manipulatory skill. The end is achieved, and cleverness attains its highest efficiency , but what does it all amount to? Cleverness is an activity of the mind, no doubt, but it must be in accordance with the Way. When the latter is neglected and mere cleverness is aimed at, it diverges and is apt to be abused. This is to be remembered well in the art of fighting.”

The tiger cat now stepped forward and expressed his view thus: “To my mind, what is important in the art of fighting is the spirit (ki; ch'i in Chinese); I have long trained myself in its cultivation and development. I am now in possession of the strongest spirit, which fills up heaven and earth. When I face an opponent, my overawing spirit is already on him, and victory is on my side even prior to actual combat. I have no conscious scheme as to the use of technical skill, but it comes out spontaneously according to change of situation. If the rat should be running over a beam, I would just gaze at him intensely with all my spiritual strength, and he is sure to fall by himself from the height and be my prisoner. But that old mysterious rat moved along without leaving any shadow. The reason is beyond me.”

The grand old Cat's reply was this: “You know how to make the most of your psychic powers, but the very fact of your being conscious of it works against you; your strong psyche stands opposed to the opponent's, and you can never be sure of yours being stronger than his, for there is always a possibility of its being surpassed. You may feel as if your active vigorous psyche were filling the universe, but it is not the spirit itself, it is no more than its shadowy image. It may resemble Mencius' Kōzen no ki (hao-jan chi ch'i), but in reality it is not. Mencius' ch'i (“spirit”), as we know, is bright and illuminating, and for this reason full of vigor, whereas yours gains vigor owing to conditions. Because of this difference in origin, there is difference in its operation. The one is a great river incessantly flowing, and the other is a temporary flood after a heavy rainfall, soon exhausted when it encounters a mightier onrush. A desperate rat often proves stronger than an attacking cat. It has been cornered, the fight is for life and death, and the desperate victim harbors no desire to escape unhurt. Its mental attitude defies every possible danger which may come upon it. Its whole being incarnates the fighting ch'i (“spirit” or “psyche”), and no cats can withstand its steel-like resistance.”

The gray cat now advanced quietly and said: “as you tell us, a psyche however strong is always accompanied by its shadow, and the enemy is sure to take advantage of this shadow, though it may be the faintest one. I have for a long time disciplined myself in this way: not to overawe the enemy, not to force a fight, but to assume a yielding and conciliatory attitude. When the enemy proves strong, I just look yielding and simply follow up his movements. I act like a curtain surrendering itself to the pressure of a stone thrown at it. Even a strong rat finds no means to fight me. But the one we had to deal with today has no parallel, it refused to submit to my psychical overpowering, and was not tempted by my manifestation of a yielding psyche. It was a most mysterious creature – the like of which I have never seen in my life.”

The grand old Cat answered: “What you call a yielding psyche is not in harmony with Nature; it is man-made, it is contrivance word out in your conscious mind. When you try by means of this to crush the opponent's positive impassioned attaching psyche, he is quick enough to detect any sign of psychic wavering which may go on in your mind. The yielding psyche thus artificially evoked produces a certain degree of muddiness and obstruction in your mind, which is sure to interfere with acuteness of perceptions and agility of action, for then Nature feels impeded in pursuing its original and spontaneous course of movement. To make Nature display its mysterious way of achieving things is to do away with all your own thinking, contriving, and acting; let Nature have her own way, let her act as it fees in you, and there will be no shadows, no signs, no traces whereby you can be caught; you have then no foes who can successfully resist you.

“I am not, however, going to say that all the discipline you have each so far gone through has been to no purpose. After all, the Way expresses itself through its vessels. Technical contrivances hold the Reason (ri, li) in them, the spiritual power is operative in the body, and when it is harmony with Nature, it acts in perfect accord with environmental changes. When the yielding psyche is thus upheld, it gives a stop to fighting on the physical plane of force and is able to stand even against rocks. But there is one most essential consideration which when neglected is sure to upset everything. This is: not to cherish even a speck of self-conscious thought. When this is present in your mind, all your acts become self-willed, human-designed tricks, and are not in conformity with the Way. It is then that people refuse to yield to your approach and come to set up a psyche of antagonism on their part. When you are in the state of mind known as “mindlessness' (mushin), you act in unison with Nature without resorting at all to artificial contrivances. The Way, however, is above all limitations, and all this talk of mine is far from being exhaustive as far as the Way is concerned.

“Some time ago there was in my neighborhood a cat who passed all her time in sleeping, showing no sign of spiritual-animal power, and looking like a wooden image. People never saw her catch a single rat, but wherever she roamed about no rats ever dared to appear in her presence. I once visited her and asked for the reason. She gave no answer. I repeated my query four times, but she remained silent. It was not that she was unwilling to answer, but in truth she did not know how to answer. So we note that one who knows speaks not a word, while one who speaks knows not. That old cat was forgetful not only of herself but all things about her, she was the one who realized divine warriorship and killed not. I am not to be compared to her.”

Continued the Cat: “Well, I am a mere cat; rats are my food, and how can I know about human affairs? But if you permit me to say something further, you must remember that swordsmanship is an art of realizing at a critical moment the Reason of life and death, it is not meant just to defeat your opponent. A samurai ought to be always mindful of this fact and discipline himself in a spiritual culture as well as in the technique of swordsmanship. First of all, therefore, he is to have an insight into the Reason of life and death, when his mind is free from thoughts of selfishness. This being attained, he cherishes no doubts, no distracting thoughts; he is not calculating, nor does he deliberate; his Spirit is even and yielding and at peace with the surroundings; he is serene and empty-minded; and thus he is able to respond freely to changes taking place from moment to moment in his environment. On the other hand, when a thought or desire is stirred in his mind, it calls up a world of form; there is 'I,' there is 'not-I,' and contradictions ensue. As long as this opposition continues, the Way finds itself restricted and blocked; its free activities become impossible. Your Spirit is already pushed into the darkness of death, altogether losing its mysterious native brightness. How can you expect in this state of mind to rise and wager your fate against the opponent? Even when you come out victorious, it is no more than accidental, and decidedly against the spirit of swordsmanship.

“By 'purposelessness' is not meant mere absence of things where vacant nothingness prevails. The Spirit is by nature formless, and no 'objects' are to be harbored in it. When anything is harbored there, your psychic energy is drawn toward it; and when your psychic energy loses its balance, its native activity becomes cramped and no more flows with the stream. Where the energy is tipped, there is too much of it in one direction, while in another there is a shortage. Where it is too much, it overflows and cannot be controlled; where there is a shortage, it is not sufficiently nourished and shrivels up. In both cases, it is unable to cope with ever-changing situations. But when there prevails a state of 'purposelessness' [which is also a state of 'mindlessness'] the Spirit harbors nothing in it, nor is it tipped in any one direction; it transcends both subject and object; it responds empty-mindedly to environmental vicissitudes and leaves no tracks. We have in the Book of Changes (I Ching): 'There is in it no thinking, no doing [ or no willing], absolute quietness, and no motion; but it feels, and when it acts, it flows through any objects and events of the world.' When this is understood in connection with the art of swordsmanship, one is nearer to the Way.”

After listening intently to the wisdom of the Cat, Shōken proposed this question: “What is meant by 'There is neither the subject nor the object'?”

Replied the Cat: “Because of the self there is the foe; when there is no self there is no foe. The foe means an opposition as the male is opposed to the female and fire to water. Whatever things have form exist necessarily in opposition. When there are no signs [of thought movement] stirred in your mind, no conflicts of opposition take place there; and when there are no conflicts, one trying to get the better of the other, this is known 'neither foe nor self.' When, further, the mind itself is forgotten together with signs [of thought movement], you enjoy a state of absolutely-doing-nothingness, you are in a state of perfectly quiet passivity, you are in harmony with the world, you are one with it. While the foe-form ceases to exist, you are not conscious of it. Your mind is cleansed of all thought movements, and you act only when there is prompting [from the Unconscious].

“When your mind is thus in a state of absolutely-doing-nothingness, the world is identified with yourself, which means that you make no choice between right and wrong, like and dislike, and are above all forms of abstractions. Such conditions as pleasure and pain, gain and loss, are creations of your own mind. The whole universe is indeed not to be sought after outside the Mind. An old poet sings: 'When there is a particle of dust in your eyes, the triple world becomes a narrow path; have your mind completely free from objects – and how much this life expands!' When even a tiny particle of sand gets into the eye, we cannot keep it open; the eye may be likened to the Mind which by nature is brightly illuminating and free from objects; but as soon as an object enters there its virtue is lost. It is said again that 'when one is surrounded by an enemy – hundreds of thousands in strength – this form [known as my Self] may be crushed to pieces, but the Mind is mine with which no overwhelming army can have anything to do.' Says Confucius: 'Even a plain man of the street cannot be deprived of his will.' When however this mind is confused, it turns to be its own enemy. This is all I can explain here, for the master's task cannot go beyond transmitting technique and illustrating the reason for it. It is yourself who realizes the truth of it. The truth is self-attained, it is transmitted from mind to mind, it is a special transmission outside the scriptural teaching. There is no willful deviation from traditional teaching, for even the master is powerless in this respect. Nor is this confined to the study of Zen. From the mind-training initiated by the ancient sages down to various branches of art, self-realization is the keynote of them all, and it is transmitted from mind to mind – a special transmission outside the scriptural teaching. What is performed by scriptural teaching is to point out for you what you have within yourself. There is no transference of secrets from master to disciple. Teaching is not difficult, listening is not difficult either, but what is truly difficult is to become conscious of what you have in yourself and be able to use it as your own. This self-realization is known as 'seeing into one's own being,' which is satori. Satori is an awakening from a dream. Awakening and self-realization and seeing into one's own being – these are synonymous.”

1From an old book on swordplay, probably written by an early master of the Ittōryū school, which was founded by Itō Kagehisa in the seventeenth century.

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One Finger Zen

Gutei was a Zen teacher who had a habit of answering questions by simply raising a single finger. One day Gutei noticed a young boy imitating him. Someone had asked the boy what the master had taught that day, and the boy cheekily raised his finger. Gutei grabbed the boy suddenly and cut of his finger.

The boy yelped and ran away, but Gutei called out to the boy. The boy stopped and looked back. As he did so Gutei raised his finger. In that instant the boy was enlightened.

What Are You Saying?

When Munan was getting old he called his senior pupil, Shoju in to see him.

“Shoju,” he said, “I am getting old. This book was handed to me by my teacher, to him from his teacher for seven generations. You will succeed me, and I am now passing the book to you.”

Shoju declined to accept the book. “I have received your teaching without writing and am satisfied. I have no need for the book. Perhaps you should keep it.”

“Even so,” said Munan, “you should take the book as a symbol of my teaching. This has been so for seven generations.” And he passed the book to Shoju.

Shoju threw it into the fire.

“What are you doing!” Shouted Munan.

“What are you saying!” Shouted Shoju back.

Emperor Meiji’s Wrestling

Tesshu served in the household of the Emperor Meiji as Japan transformed from a feudal to a modern society. Meiji enjoyed Sumo wrestling and often wrestled with his aids. Since he was the Emperor his opponents always let him win, giving Meiji a false impression of his own abilities. One evening Tesshu was drinking sake with the emperor and some of the other aids when the emperor challenged Tesshu to a sumo match.

Since he did wanted neither to humiliate the emperor nor fake a loss, Tesshu politely declined to wrestle the emperor. Meiji insisted and, having drunk a lot of sake, became angry at Tesshu’s continued refusal. Meiji began to shove Tesshu but found him to be solidly grounded. He threw a punch at Tesshu, but Tesshu moved slightly to the side, causing the emperor to lose his balance and tumble to the floor. Tesshu then pinned him to the ground while the other aids shouted at him to be appropriately respectful. Eventually Tesshu released the emperor and went to another room.

Everyone demanded that Tesshu immediately apologise for causing such humiliation to the emperor, but Tesshu only said “If I deliberately let him throw me I would be nothing better than a lackey, whereas I have pledged my life to him. He must learn not to lose his temper and not to be a bully. If he does not learn defeat in a wrestling match he will become a tyrant. Tell him what I have said and if he orders me to commit suicide I will do so immediately.

The emperor sent Tesshu a message to say that he would henceforth abstain from both sake and sumo.

A Test of Good Health

Matsuka, one of Tesshu’s students heard he was dying, but because Tesshu was only in his early 50s and always apparently in good health he did not believe it. Creeping into Tesshu’s room late at night he saw his teacher sitting zazen and jumped on him. Tesshu quickly pinned him to the ground, and seeing who it was demanded an explanation. The student however saw that his teacher was still strong and quickly ran away to tell the other students that there was nothing wrong with Tesshu. The following week Tesshu died of stomach cancer.

Pot Lid Zen

Yagyu Matajuro was a young member of the Yagyu family, famous for the family tradition of swordsmanship. However Matajuro’s father was disappointed in his son’s tendency towards laziness and banished him from the dojo. Matajuro, his pride stung resolved to seek out a master and return as a great swordsman. Matajuro journeyed to the Kumano shrine in the province of Kii, where he had heard of a great teacher called Banzo. The monks at the shrine told him that Banzo lived as a hermit in the nearby mountains, and showed him the trail to follow. Eventually he found Banzo asked to be accepted as a student.

“How long will it take me to learn swordsmanship?” he asked.

“The rest of your life,” was the reply.

“I can’t wait that long. I will accept any hardship, and will devote myself completely to the study of swordsmanship.”

“In that case, ten years.”

“What if I train twice as hard?” tried Matajuro.

“In that case, thirty years.”

“Why is that? First you say ten then thirty years. I will do anything to learn, but I don’t have that much time.”

“In that case, seventy years.”

Sensing the direction of the conversation, Matajuro capitulated and agreed to work as long as it took, and do anything he was told. However, for the first year all Banzo had Matajuro do was to perform simple physical tasks such as chopping wood. After a year of this Matajuro was disappointed and demanded that Banzo teach him some swordsmanship. Banzo merely insisted that he chop wood.

Matajuro went to the woodpile and was chopping, but inwardly he was furious. He resolved to leave Banzo the next day. But while he was chopping Banzo crept up behind him and struck him painfully with a wooden sword. “You want to learn swordsmanship, but you can’t even dodge a stick,” he said.

From that day on Banzo would creep up on Matajuro and attack him with a wooden sword. Eventually Matajuro’s senses became heightened, and Banzo had to change tactics. Now Banzo would attack repeatedly, even when Matajuro was asleep. For the next four years Matajuro had not a moment’s rest from the fear of unexpected attack.

One day, when Matajuro was stirring some food on the fire, Banzo crept up and attacked him by surprise. Without thinking Matajuro fended off the blow with the lid of the pot without taking his mind off stirring the food. That night Banzo wrote out a certificate of mastery for Matajuro.

When it is Possible to Break Study

One of Tesshu’s former students, Ogura Tetsuju, had undertaken a three year Zen retreat when he heard that Tesshu was on his death bed. He asked for, and was given, permission to visit his teacher one last time. However, when he arrived Tesshu refused to see him, saying only “Tell him the three years are not up yet.

The day before he died Tesshu noticed that there were no sounds of training to be heard from the dojo. He was told that the students had decided to cancel training to be with him in his last hours. “Training is the only way to honour me!” he thundered, and ordered them back to training.

Carry It Out

A monk once asked Joshu “If I have nothing in my mind, what should I do?”

“Throw it out.” Replied Joshu.

“But if there is nothing in my mind how can I throw it out?”

“Then,” said Joshu, “you will have to carry it out.”

The Moon

Ryokan was a Zen master who lived a very simple life in the countryside. One summer evening, Ryokan returned home to find a thief in his house. The thief was looking for something to steal but could find nothing. “You have come a long way to visit,” said Ryokan, “I cannot let you return empty handed. Please accept my clothes as a gift.” The thief was so confused he grabbed the clothes and ran away. Later Ryokan sat outside watching the moon. To himself he said, “What a shame I could not give him this beautiful moon.”

Form is emptiness,emptiness is form

*note* this short buddhist sutra always fascinated me...it's easy to read it,but unbelievable hard to actually experience it's meaning...form is emptiness,emptiness is form?..marvelous,because usually we believe that emptiness(spirit,gods,etc..) is something different then form.(matter,consciousness,etc).But maybe they are the same. Same coin,with 2 sides.Which side do you want to choose?..up to you.
-added by danny-
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The Heart Sutra

Maha-Prajna-Paramita-Hridaya

Thus have I heard. At one time the Blessed One together with many of the highest Bodhisattvas and a great company of Bhikshus was staying at Rajagaha on Mt. Gridhrakuta. The Blessed One was sitting apart absorbed in Samadhi Prajna-paramita. The Venerable Sariputra, influenced by the Blessed One absorbed in Samadhi, spoke thus to the Noble Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara: --If a son or daughter wishes to study the profound Prajna-paramita, how is he to do so?

The Noble Avalokitesvara replied to the Venerable Sariputra, saying:--If a son or daughter wishes to study the profound Prajna-paramita, he must first get rid of all ideas of ego-selfness. Let him think thus: Personality? What is personality? Is it an enduring entity? Or is it made up of elements that pass away? Personality is made up of the five grasping aggregates: form, sensation, perception, discrimination, consciousness, all of which are by nature empty of any self-substance. Form is emptiness, emptiness is not different from form, neither is form different from emptiness, indeed, emptiness is form. Also, sensation is emptiness, emptiness is not different from sensation, neither is sensation different from emptiness, indeed, emptiness is sensation. Also, perception is emptiness, emptiness is not different from perception, neither is perception different from emptiness, indeed, emptiness is perception. Also, discrimination is emptiness, emptiness is not different from discrimination, neither is discrimination different from emptiness, indeed, emptiness is discrimination. Also, consciousness is emptiness, emptiness is not different from consciousness, neither is consciousness different from emptiness, indeed, emptiness is consciousness.

Thus, O Sariputra, all things having the nature of emptiness have no beginning and no ending. The are neither faultless nor not faultless; they are neither perfect nor imperfect. In emptiness there is no form, no sensation, no perception, no discrimination, no consciousness. There is no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no sensitiveness to contact, no mind. There is no sight, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no mental process, no object, no knowledge, no ignorance. There is no destruction of objects, there is no cessation of knowledge, no destruction of objects, there is no cessation of knowledge, no cessation of ignorance. There is no Noble Four-fold Truths: no pain, no cause of pain, no cessation of pain, no Noble Path leading to the cessation of pain. There is no decay and no death, and no destruction of the notion of decay and death. There is no knowledge of Nirvana, there is no obtaining of Nirvana, there is no not obtaining of Nirvana.

Why is there no obtaining of Nirvana? Because Nirvana is the realm of no "thingness." If the ego-soul of personality was an enduring entity it could not obtain Nirvana. It is only because personality is made up of elements that pass away, that personality may attain Nirvana. So long as man is seeking highest perfect Wisdom, he is still abiding in the realm of consciousness. If he is to realize Nirvana, he must pass beyond consciousness. In highest samadhi having transcended consciousness, he has passed beyond discrimination and knowledge, beyond the reach of change or fear; he is already enjoying Nirvana. The perfect understanding of this and the patient acceptance of it is the highest perfect Wisdom that is Prajna-paramita. All the Buddhas of the past, present and future having attained highest samadhi, awake to find themselves realizing Prajna-paramita.

Therefore, O Sariputra, every-one should seek self-realization of Prajna-paramita, the Transcendent Truth, the unsurpassable Truth, the Truth that ends all pain, the Truth that is forever True. Oh Prajna-paramita! O Transcendent Truth that spans the troubled ocean of life and death: safely carry all seekers to the other shore of enlightenment.

Listen to the Mantra, the Great, Mysterious Mantra:--Gate, gate, paragate, bodhi, svaha! Gone, gone, gone to that other shore; safely passed to that other shore, O Prajna-paramita! So may it be.