Spiritual Stories of the East (Spoken Word CD)

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From the Lotus Sutra

From the state of Emptiness man’s body is a body pervading the universe, his voice is a voice filling the universe, his life is a life that is without limit.

One day Nasrudin was seen sprinkling powder on the ground around his house. “What are you doing?” his friends inquired. Oh, the powder will keep the tigers away. “There are no tigers around here,” pointed out the friends. “See, works well, doesn’t it!” crowed Nasrudin.

Hakuin at the time was deep in koan practice and steeped in concentration on his problem as he knocked on the door of a small house in the village. So intense was his concentration that he did not hear” Go away!” from the busy woman inside. Again, he knocked and again the woman shouted Go away!” When he knocked a third time the old lady grabbed a broom, and seeing Hakuin standing outside the door, broke it over his head. At that moment, the bottom dropped out of everything for Hakuin. Later, he said, “After this, seeing the things of the world was like seeing the back of my own hand.”

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Hakuin’s Song of Enlightenment

Editor’s Note: Justin said this always knocked him out when he heard it.

All things are primarily Buddhas.

It is like water and ice. There is no ice apart from water.

There are no Buddhas apart from beings.

Not knowing how close the Truth is to them, beings seek it afar.

What a pity!

They are those who, being in the midst of water cry out for water, feeling thirst.

Those who for once, listening to the Dharma in all humility, praise it and faithfully follow it, will be endowed with innumerable merits.

But how much more so, when you turn your eyes within yourselves and have a glimpse into your Self Nature.

You will find that the Self Nature is No Nature, the Truth permitting no idle sophistry.

For you then opens the gate leading to the oneness of cause and effect.

Before you then lie a straight road of non-duality and non-trinity.

When you come to understand that form is the form of the Formless, your coming and going takes place nowhere else than where you are.

When you understand that thought is the thought of the Thoughtless, your singing and dancing is no other than the voice of the Dharma, how boundless is the sky of Samadhi.

How refreshingly bright is the moon of the 4-fold wisdom.

Being so, is there anything you lack?

As the Absolute presents itself before you, the place where you stand is the Land of the Lotus, and your person is the body of the Buddha.

Spiritual and Physical Purification
All organisms are in a constant state of purification – both spiritually and physically. Physically, the activity to throw off impurities brings on what we call illness. To put chemicals in the body (painkillers, sleeping pills, etc.) simply adds to the impurities to be thrown off and builds up the need for subsequent purification.

Spiritually, there is evolvement. Karma – the result of habit-energies (sasanas) and tendencies (samskaras) – causes us to have experiences that will hasten evolution or purifying of the Chi (prana). When we do such practices as T’ai Chi Chih we are aiding this process.

The above is true, but only at one level. At the deepest, non-dualistic level it is not apparent.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Practice! Practice!
A T’ai Chi Chih teacher who does not practice him- or herself is somewhat of a fraud. Personal development is necessary before passing it on to students. My teacher from India said: “Before giving water, make sure you have water to give.” This does not apply to most T’ai Chi Chih teachers, who practice faithfully.