Death, of course
Is the sure bet
But you are either
The horse
Or the punter, and
Never both at once.
Tag: zen buddhism
the sure bet
death
is not such a scary thing
not completely unexpected
it happens to everyone
it is the sure bet
so why do we fear it
it’s as natural as birth
to be born is
to be guaranteed a death
a wise man once said
‘what is unborn cannot die’
how wonderful it is, then
to be born and not live forever
because how boring
would life be
as beckett put it, to be
waiting for godot
This one …
Just as losing weight and saving money need to be achieved by oneself so to Enlightenment.
Resolution for 2013
Although over two months have past for 2013 already I had made a resolution this year but not posted about it.
This year I have one resolution only – to be able to recite the Hannya Shingyo (Heart Sutra) by heart. This has been something I haven’t been able to do. There are sections which I don’t remember or else I get the order muddled. Conscious focus is necessary for anything. So you can say I have not been mindful in this case.
No form
What is the ‘no’ in ‘no form’?
This ‘no’ is not the no in the phrase ‘I have no money’. Whether one has money or not is not of importance. The ‘no’ is rather like the ‘-less’ in ‘priceless’ meaning ‘beyond a value’ where it is not attached to existence or non-existence.
And what is the ‘form’ of ‘no form’? It the very way our physical body works. The heart pumps. The blood flows. Rhythm follows. We breathe. We grow. And we change. But to go beyond this understanding of good and bad is the meaning of the phrase ‘no form’.
It is this life, this reality, without principles, without discrimination that we have simply overlooked.
We should be attentive to the ‘no form’ which is without attachment in all its working.
(My translation of Choyaku Hannya Shingyo, pp88-9, by Sakaino Katsunori, ISBN 9784837981619)
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