So it is said that the earth lifts
Up the mountain without
Knowing the mountain’s
Stark steepness.

A rock contains jade without
Knowing the jade’s flawlessness.

This is how truly to leave home.

– Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091-1157)

When one goes to Obaku temple in Kyoto he sees carved over the gate the words “The First Principle”. The letters are unusually large, and those who appreciate calligraphy always admire them as being a mastepiece. They were drawn by Kosen two hundred years ago.

When the master drew them he did so on paper, from which the workmen made the large carving in wood. As Kosen sketched the letters a bold pupil was with him who had made several gallons of ink for the calligraphy and who never failed to criticise his master’s work.

“That is not good,” he told Kosen after his first effort.

“How is this one?”

“Poor. Worse than before,” pronounced the pupil.

Kosen patiently wrote one sheet after another until eighty-four First Principles had accumulated, still without the approval of the pupil.

Then when the young man stepped outside for a few moments, Kosen thought: “Now this is my chance to escape his keen eye,” and he wrote hurriedly, with a mind free from distraction: “The First Principle.”

“A masterpiece,” pronounced the pupil.

Sometimes the mind is still.
There is no anxiety, and the heart is clear throughout.
Then it is said that even though the body is in the human realm, the mind roams in heaven. 

However in one day an ordinary person transmigrates countless times, during which he rarely keeps the human mind, much less roams in heaven.

– Master Torei (1721-1792)

The white clouds
On the mountain tops
Poke halfway into this thatched hut
I had thought too cramped
Even for myself

– Koho Kennichi (1241-1316)

No one is absent and no one is ignorant.
Originally, no one is deluded.
– Bankei (1622-1693)

They act without mind,
They respond with certainty.

– Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091-1157)

After enlightenment one understands
That the Six Classics
Contain not even a word.
– Wang Yang-ming (1472-1529)

Does one really have to fret
About enlightenment?
No matter what road I travel,
I’m going home.

– Shinsho

Wise listeners, the wisdom of enlightenment
Is inherent in each of us.

We fail to recognize it because
Of delusion of mind;

To know the essence of Mind
Seek the teachings of the enlightened.

– Hui-neng (638–713)