![\"Kodo\"](\"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/slider_\u00a9Huebner_2013aug_1334c1-669x272.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
18. To you who are complaining all the time that you haven\u2019t got any time<\/h4>\n
People only keep themselves busy to avoid boredom.<\/p>\n
Everybody complains that they\u2019re so busy they haven\u2019t got any time. But why are they so busy? It\u2019s only their illusions that keep them busy. A person who practices zazen has time. When you practice zazen, you have more time than anyone else in the world.<\/p>\n
If you aren\u2019t careful, you\u2019ll start making a big fuss just to feed yourself. You\u2019re constantly in a hurry, but why? Just to feed yourself. Chickens too are in a hurry when they peck at their food. But why? Only to be eaten by humans.<\/p>\n
19. To you who are tumbling down the career ladder<\/h4>\n
When you\u2019re dead and you look back at your life, you\u2019ll see that none of this mattered in the least.<\/p>\n
Suffering is nothing more than the suffering we create for ourselves. Some even take great pains to meticulously piece together their own suffering.<\/p>\n
None of this matters at all. Stop blubbering! What a waste of tears.
\nGrow up a little and open your eyes: You\u2019ll see that you\u2019re making a great fuss over nothing.
\nAll living beings are just like crybabies making a great fuss over nothing.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re worried about death? Don\u2019t worry \u2013 you\u2019ll die for sure.<\/p>\n
20. To you who like to hear ghost stories<\/h4>\n
Isn\u2019t everything a hallucination? It\u2019s only because we don\u2019t recognize this hallucination as a hallucination that we wander around in life and death.<\/p>\n
Some underpants are hanging to dry on a branch. Somebody sees them and thinks they\u2019ve seen a ghost. Maybe you\u2019re thinking that something like that hardly ever happens in reality, but when we think, \u201cI need money\u201d, \u201cI want to become minister\u201d, \u201cI want to get ahead\u201d \u2013 aren\u2019t we all taking a pair of underpants for a ghost?<\/p>\n
Everyone is talking about \u201creality\u201d, but this is only a dream. It\u2019s nothing more than the reality inside a dream. Good! When people are talking about revolution and war, we think that something really special is going on, but what is it besides struggling inside a dream? When you die, you recognize your dream. Someone who doesn\u2019t put an end to dreaming before then is an ordinary person.<\/p>\n
21. To you who would like more money, love, status and fame<\/h4>\n
Heaven and earth give, air gives, water gives, plants give, animals give, humans give. All things give of themselves to each other. It\u2019s only within this reciprocal giving that we can survive \u2013 regardless of whether we\u2019re thankful for it or not.<\/p>\n
Once during the war, I visited a coal mine. With the same outfit and head-lamp as the miners, I got into the lift and down we went. At one point when we were going down it seemed to me as if suddenly we were going up again. But when I looked with the lamp at the wall of the shaft, I saw that we were still going down. In the beginning when we were accelerating downwards, we could really feel that we were going downwards. Just when the velocity changed it seemed to us as if we were going up again. In exactly the same way, when we think about our lives, we always go wrong when we mistake the fluctuating amounts for the sum.<\/p>\n
Losing is satori. Winning is illusion.<\/p>\n
22. To you who wish you could lead a happier life<\/h4>\n
\u201cRest awhile and everything will be fine.\u201d
\nWe simply need to take a short break. Being buddha means taking a short break from being a human. Being buddha doesn\u2019t mean working your way up as a human.<\/p>\n
What do we have when we truly have a grip on things as they are? Beyond-thinking [hishiry\u014d<\/i>]. Beyond-thinking doesn\u2019t allow itself to be thought. No matter if you think so or not: things are simply as they are.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll things are empty\u201d means there\u2019s nothing we can run into, because nothing is really happening. We only think something\u2019s happening because we are intoxicated by something.<\/p>\n
23. To you who say that doctors and monks have it good<\/h4>\n
Out-dated views \u2013 what adults teach children are often nothing more than out-dated views. The view that good is good and bad is bad has already had its best days. Even a vegetable which was once good is inedible once it\u2019s past its prime.
\nWe\u2019ve got to always be able to see things from a fresh perspective. You say, \u201cThat\u2019s important.\u201d But what\u2019s important? There\u2019s nothing that\u2019s so important. When we die we\u2019ve got to leave everything behind anyway. The cultural goods and national treasures in Nara or Ky\u014dto will sooner or later disappear, so we could actually set them on fire right now!<\/p>\n
A home-leaving monk means someone who completely lets go. It means letting go of group stupidity. Today\u2019s monks only want to cling to things. That\u2019s why they\u2019re good for nothing.<\/p>\n
When you feed a cat treats, it stops hunting mice. And a spoiled dog keeps no watch. Even humans aren\u2019t any good for work when they\u2019ve got money and can take it easy.<\/p>\n
24. To you who say that monks run an easy business<\/h4>\n
Monks desperately try to get by through paying lip service to the Buddha\u2019s teaching. And lay people hope to get something out of it when they have monks pay lip service. How could this have anything to do with the Buddha\u2019s teaching, earning your living with memorized lip service?<\/p>\n
Monks like to talk about the old women who they read their sutras for: \u201cThe granny over there is seeking refuge in me.\u201d Don\u2019t say it so lightly \u2013 idiots should keep their mouths shut!<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s monks say zazen isn\u2019t in demand anymore. They say, Sawaki is out of touch with the times.<\/p>\n
There is a bad deed, called \u201cdoing good\u201d. For some, doing good is just a decoration.<\/p>\n
25. To you who want to study a little Buddhism to improve yourself<\/h4>\n
\u201cEmpty theories\u201d is what we call it when bystanders play around with terminology. Playing around like that is good for nothing. Dive in with body and soul!<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve got to die completely in order to be able to reflect on the buddha-dharma. It isn\u2019t enough to torture yourself and only die halfway.<\/p>\n
The buddha-dharma is nothing for spectators. It\u2019s about you.<\/p>\n
26. To you who like hearing something inspirational about Buddhism<\/h4>\n
They say, \u201cWhen I hear Sawaki talk, my faith cools down.\u201d Now I\u2019m going to really put their faith on ice: This sort of faith is nothing but superstition.
\nThey say, \u201cSawaki\u2019s talks don\u2019t awaken any faith in me.\u201d They don\u2019t awaken any superstition, that\u2019s all.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s nothing more funny than old women looking for \u201cinspiration\u201d. Everything for them is \u201cinspirational\u201d even if it\u2019s only worth as much as pigeon shit. Anyway, this idea of inspiration is mistaken: isn\u2019t it just personal inspiration they\u2019re talking about? They\u2019re only taking refuge in Buddha because they hope to get something out of it.<\/p>\n
Whatever sutra you read, it\u2019s always about devoting your body and life to the Way. Why is it that the whole world believes religion means praying to Buddha for good health and good business?<\/p>\n
27. To you who naively starts wondering about your true self<\/h4>\n
Just forget everything you\u2019ve picked up since you were born.<\/p>\n
When a drop of water enters the sea, and when a speck of dust settles on the ground, then that drop is already the sea, and that speck of dust is already the earth.<\/p>\n
All things are contained in my self. That\u2019s why, in my actions, I also have to pay attention to what other\u2019s expect.<\/p>\n
It is because we are grateful towards society that whenever we use something, we think of those who will need it after us.<\/p>\n
28. To you who thinks Buddhism is the greatest idea in human history<\/h4>\n
Be careful that you don\u2019t handle the buddha-dharma like some canned good which has nothing to do with reality.<\/p>\n
Your explanations and your anecdotes are foolish like everything that comes out of your mouth. The expression on your face has already said how it really is.<\/p>\n
You can express reality completely freely with words. Yet these words are not in themselves reality. If reality were in the words themselves, we would burn our tongue whenever we said \u201cfire\u201d. And whenever we talked about wine, we would get drunk. In reality, it isn\u2019t so easy.<\/p>\n
29. To you who are pleased when someone compliments the depth of your faith<\/h4>\n
Many confuse faith with a type of intoxication. There\u2019s a type of intoxication similar to awe that\u2019s nothing but delusion. Faith means, however, just the opposite \u2013 complete sobriety from any form of intoxication.<\/p>\n
When most people in the world talk about the mind of faith, they don\u2019t think it\u2019s anything more than kissing Buddha\u2019s ass.
\n\u201cDo what you like with the others, but at least give me a first-class ticket to paradise!\u201d Prayers like that have got nothing to do with the mind of faith.
\nFaith means clarity and purity. Mind means the single mind that encompasses the three worlds. So having faith means clarifying and purifying the one mind of the three worlds. The mind of faith means truly becoming clear about your own mind.<\/p>\n
Faith means being clear and pure. It means being at ease. But some people get confused about this as well and think faith is about getting worked up, so they try with all their might to do so. Until they realize that it\u2019s not so easy to get truly worked-up. Then they just act as if they were.<\/p>\n
30. To you who say that the Sh\u014db\u014dgenz\u014d is difficult to understand<\/h4>\n
Because you want to understand Buddhist teaching from the standpoint of human thought, you are going 180\u00b0 in the wrong direction.<\/p>\n
Master D\u014dgen doesn\u2019t expect anything from us that\u2019s not humanly possible. It\u2019s simply a matter of becoming natural, without empty thoughts or peculiarities. Buddhism in general doesn\u2019t demand anything special from us, only that we become natural.
\nSome verses in the sutras might seem special to us, for example, \u201cThe white hair between his eyebrows illuminates the 3,000 worlds.\u201d But that\u2019s only a literary symbol for the samadhi that is the king of all samadhis.<\/p>\n
Master D\u014dgen\u2019s whole life was one uncompromising, penetrating inquiry into himself.<\/p>\n
31. To you who say that Buddhism doesn\u2019t have anything to do with you<\/h4>\n
In prison, the prisoners puff themselves up in front of the guards and say, \u201cTake a good look at yourselves. Without us you wouldn\u2019t have anything to eat!\u201d
\nThat\u2019s exactly how it is with us ordinary people. Because we exist, the buddhas exist. Without us ordinary people, the buddhas would have been out of work long ago.
\nIn this sense ordinary people and buddhas aren\u2019t separate beings, but stand in interrelation to each other.<\/p>\n
You believe that Buddhism is a little different from everything else. But it\u2019s not like that at all: Buddhism is each and every thing. \u201cEach and every thing is my child.\u201d That\u2019s how the buddha-dharma sees the world.<\/p>\n
When adults are only adults, children don\u2019t grow up. When children cry, you\u2019ve got to cry with them. Adults have to be children, children have to be adults. Between buddhas and ordinary people, the buddha-dharma and the social world, satori and illusion, ascending and descending, wisdom and compassion \u2013 there\u2019s got to be a lively exchange among all of these.<\/p>\n
32. To you who say that your body, just as it is, is already Buddha<\/h4>\n
Ishigawa Gozaemon said, \u201cEven once I have disappeared and all sand has washed into the sea, the seeds of thievery in the world will never be exhausted.\u201d This is how he sings the praises of that \u201cthief-nature\u201d that penetrates heaven and earth. And yet, as long as we don\u2019t act like Gozaemon we won\u2019t become thieves.
\nIt\u2019s also said that all things have buddha-nature, and that it completely penetrates heaven and earth. But as long as we don\u2019t act like a buddha, we don\u2019t become buddhas.<\/p>\n
When you, inseparable from Buddha, put Buddha\u2019s activity into practice \u2013 only then are you a buddha. And when you act like a fool, then you\u2019re a fool.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s only in your approach to life that Buddha appears.<\/p>\n
33. To you who are out of your mind trying so hard to attain peace of mind<\/h4>\n
A peace of mind that is totally at peace would be nothing more than something ready made. Real peace of mind only exists within unpeaceful mind.<\/p>\n
When dissatisfaction is finally accepted as dissatisfaction, peace of mind reigns. It\u2019s the mind of a person who had been deaf to criticism when he finally listens to others talking about his mistakes. It\u2019s the mind of a person who, naked and begging for his life, suddenly dies peacefully. It\u2019s the mind of a person who has suddenly lost the beggar who had been pulling at his sleeve, relentlessly following him around everywhere,. It\u2019s the mind after the flood in which the make-up of piety has washed away.<\/p>\n
How could a human being ever have peace of mind? The real question is what you\u2019re doing with this human life. What you\u2019re doing with this stinking sack of flesh, that\u2019s the issue.<\/p>\n
34. To you who are aiming at the ultimate way of life<\/h4>\n
It has to be exactly as it is, yet it can be any which way. Nothing has to be done in any particular way, yet it has to be done in the highest and best way.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s all about finding the correct tension for your muscles and tendons. It\u2019s about becoming a person without gaps, about developing the proper tension and placement of muscles and tendons.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the buddha-dharma about? It\u2019s about having every aspect of your daily life pulled by Buddha.<\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t enough to hit the bull\u2019s eye once. Last\u2019s years perfect marks are useless. You\u2019ve got to hit the bull\u2019s eye right now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
To You (2) by K\u014dd\u014d Sawaki R\u014dshi These are a few selected quotes from an early version of K\u014dd\u014d Sawaki R\u014dshi’s “Tou you”, a book translated from Japanese by Reih\u014d Haasch and Muh\u014d. The complete, revised and edited book will be available in print from Hohm press in 2021. 18. To you who are complaining all the time that you haven\u2019t got any time People only keep themselves busy to avoid boredom. Everybody complains that they\u2019re so busy they haven\u2019t got any time. But why are they so busy? It\u2019s only their illusions that keep them busy. A person who practices zazen has time. When you practice zazen, you have more time than anyone else in the world. If you aren\u2019t careful, you\u2019ll start making a big fuss just to feed yourself. You\u2019re constantly in a hurry, but why? Just to feed yourself. Chickens too are in a hurry when they peck at their food. But why? Only to be eaten by humans. 19. To you who are tumbling down the career ladder When you\u2019re dead and you look back at your life, you\u2019ll see that none of this mattered in the least. Suffering is nothing more than the suffering we create for ourselves. Some even take great pains to meticulously piece together their own suffering. None of this matters at all. Stop blubbering! What a waste of tears. Grow up a little and open your eyes: You\u2019ll see that you\u2019re making a great fuss over nothing. All living beings are just like crybabies making a great fuss over nothing. You\u2019re worried about death? Don\u2019t worry \u2013 you\u2019ll die for sure. 20. To you who like to hear ghost stories Isn\u2019t everything a hallucination? It\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":72,"menu_order":21,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"side-navigation.php","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7456","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7456"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18733,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7456\/revisions\/18733"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/72"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}