Because Monks Come From The Midst Of

In Doing Zazen It Is Desirable To Have A Quiet Room. You Should Be Temperate In Eating And Drinking, Forsaking All Delusive Relationships. Setting Everything Aside, Think Of Neither Good Nor Evil, Right Nor Wrong. Thus Having Stopped The Various Functions Of Your Mind, Five Up Even The Idea Of Becoming A Buddha.

Yet You Must Not Cling To The Words Of The Old Sages Either; They, Too, May Not Be Right. Even If You Believe Them, You Should Be Alert So That, In The Event That Something Superior Comes Along, You May Follow That.

The Coming And Going Of Birth And Death Is A Painting. Unsurpassed Enlightenment Is A Painting. The Entire Phenomenal Universe And The Empty Sky Are Nothing But A Painting.

Students, When You Want To Say Something, Think About It Three Times Before You Say It. Speak Only If Your Words Will Benefit Yourselves And Others. Do Not Speak If It Brings No Benefit.

When Other Sects Speak Well Of Zen, The First Thing That They Praise Is Its Poverty.