An online community sharing the study and practice of Chan Buddhism

Übersetzt von Wu-Pieh-an (Wolfgang Waas)

1.
In meinem Geist ist das Bild eines reinen und stillen Ortes:
Wo immer du hinsiehst ist nur Natur.
Die Wände sind aus geflochtenen Binsen,
Ein halber Hektar, um Wurzeln und Blumen zu pflanzen.
Glänzende Vögel lassen sich nieder auf Felsenklippen,
Die ein paar Wolken einrahmen rund um grüne Berge.
Der rote Staub der Welt kommt nicht so hoch herauf -
Einfache Eleganz ist besser als Heiligkeit und Spiritualität.

2.
Kann man Freude finden in den Bergen? Ich will's dir sagen -
es gibt mehr Freude in den Bergen als irgendwo sonst.
Kiefern und Bambus rezitieren heilige Lieder,
Vögel zwitschern die Melodien der Sheng-Flöten.
In den Bäumen haschen Affen nach Früchten,
In den Teichen spielen Enten mit Lotosblüten.
So der gewöhnlichen Welt zu entkommen,
Monat um Monat und Jahr um Jahr,
lässt alle Hindernisse von Erleuchtung schwinden.

3.
Versuche nicht groß zu erscheinen in den Höfen des Ruhms -
In den Bergen schwinden solche Träume dahin.
Dein Leib steht von selbst, ist er einmal auf Wolkenhöhe,
Dein Herz zieht sich zurück von weltlichen Anhaftungen.
Der Mond, den ich liebe, zeigt einen Pfad durch die Kiefern
Und weist einem Bach den Weg durch das Bambustor.
Ja - natürlich ist das nichts weniger als wunderbar -
wie könntest du es jemals missachten,
oder auch nur dieses Bildes müde werden?

4.
In den Bergen gibt es doch nichts, das verbieten würde,
Beim Mittagsschläfchen zu träumen von einer Schüssel Hirsebrei.
Wenn du von Natur aus faul bist, wirst du nicht über Problemen brüten,
Aber den Leib leicht nehmen und die Kälte nicht fürchten.
Chrysanthemen blühen an den drei alten Wegen,
Ein paar Pflaumenbäume lassen den ganzen Garten duften.
Begegnungen sind segensreich kurz,
Muße ist segensreich lang.

5.
Wache nur auf vom Mittagsschlaf in der Grashütte,
Nimm einen Wanderstock und lass' ihn frei und leicht schwingen.
Lehne an einem Felsen und betrachte das Steigen der Wolken,
Horch auf die jungen Kiefern und höre auf das Lied der Wellen.
Wo der Wald dicht ist, kommen keine Gäste vorbei,
Wenn die Wege gefährlich sind, holt man auf ihnen nur Feuerholz.
Der Ort ist so unberührt und kühl - wie könnte er verfehlen
den Glutofen der Kümmernisse meines Geistes zu löschen?

6.
Die Menschen beschweren sich über das harte Leben in den Bergen.
Ich denke es ist nicht so verschieden von Schwierigkeiten anderswo.
In einem Ofen aus Lehm brennen Birkenzweige,
In einem steinernen Kessel brodeln wilde Kräuter.
Es scheint du hast nur eben die Chrysanthemen gepflückt,
Die in den drei Herbstmonaten wachsen,
Als es Zeit war die Märzblumen anzusehen.
Hab lieber Mitleid mit dem Mond, der Nacht um Nacht
Gezwungen ist die Gesellschaft zu unterhalten...

Sutras and Shastras

Since there is no difference between the Shakti and the one who embodies her, nor between substance and object, the Shakti is identical to the Self. The energy of the flames is nothing but the fire. All distinction is but a prelude to the path of true knowledge. The one who reaches the Shakti grasps the non-distinction between Shiva and Shakti and enters the door to the divine. As space is ...

Thus have I heard. One morning, when the Buddha was staying near Shravasti in the jeta grove of Anathapindika's estate, He and His company of twelve hundred and fifty monks went into the city to beg for their breakfast; and after they returned and finished their meal, they put away their robes and bowls and washed their feet. Then the Buddha took His seat and the others sat down before Him.

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There is a teaching (dharma) which can awaken in us the root of faith in the Mahayana, and it should therefore be explained. The explanation is divided into five parts. They are (1) the Reasons for Writing; (2) the Outline; (3) the Interpretation; (4) on Faith and Practice; (5) the Encouragement of Practice and the Benefits Thereof. Someone may ask the reasons why I was led to write this ...

This is what should be done By one who is skilled in goodness, And who knows the path of peace: Let them be able and upright, Straightforward and gentle in speech. Humble and not conceited, Contented and easily satisfied. Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways. Peaceful and calm, and wise and skilful, Not proud and demanding in nature.

The Buddha's Teaching on Loving-kindness
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Thus have I heard. At one time the Blessed One together with many of the highest Bodhisattvas and a great company of Bhikshus was staying at Rajagaha on Mt. Gridhrakuta. The Blessed One was sitting apart absorbed in Samadhi Prajna-paramita. The Venerable Sariputra, influenced by the Blessed One absorbed in Samadhi, spoke thus to the Noble Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara:

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The Platform Sutra of Hui Neng became a pivotal treatise in the history of Chan, often used as a distinguishing mark of Souther School Chán.  An important resource for anyone interested in the historical devolopment of Chán Buddhism in China. The Master Hui-neng ascended the high seat at the lecture hall of the Ta-fan Temple and expounded the Dharma of the Great Perfection of Wisdom, and ...

By NA
Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, when practicing deeply the Prajna Paramita, Perceived that all five skandhas are empty&nbsp And was saved from all suffering and distress. O Shariputra, form does not differ from emptiness; Emptiness does not differ from form. That which is form is emptiness; That which is emptiness form.

The Heart Sutra -- "The Heart of the Perfection of Great Wisdom" Sutra

...

By the Buddha

Sayings of the Buddha

Speak not harshly to anyone; those thus spoken to will retort. Vindictive speech begets sorrow, and retaliatory blows may bruise you.
-- Canto X.5

Even though a man be richly attired, if he should live in peace, calm, controlled, assured, leading a holy life, abstaining from inflicting injury upon all creatures, he is truly a brahmana, a recluse, a bhikkhu.
-- Canto X.14

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I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One, on a wandering tour among the Kosalans with a large community of monks, arrived at Kesaputta, a town of the Kalamas. The Kalamas of Kesaputta heard it said, "Gotama the contemplative — the son of the Sakyans, having gone forth from the Sakyan clan — has arrived at Kesaputta. And of that Master Gotama this fine reputation has spread: 'He ...

Death & Dying

By Chuan Zhi

When we recognize that the ego doesn't exist in any real sense but only as an artifice of the mind, there's nothing that needs explaining anymore: the notion of reincarnation is seen as nothing more than an intellectual game. The person, like the raindrop, merges into the sea of the Dharmakaya, a sea where individuality, in any mode of conception, is totally obliterated. Does one molecule of ...

By Carl Gustav Jung
Carl Jung was, and continues to be, a tremendous influence on matters of spiritual consciousness in the western hemisphere. He was deeply interested in the psychological and spiritual underpinnings of Zen Buddhism and other eastern religions and for many years collaborated with Zen scholars and priests such as D. T. Suzuki. Between them, an amalgam of psychology and spirituality took shape that ...
By John Donne
Perchance, he for whom this bell tolls may be so ill, as that he knows not it tolls for him; and perchance I may think myself so much better than I am, as that they who are about me, and see my state, may have caused it to toll for me, and I know not that. The church is Catholic, universal, so are all her actions; all that she does belongs to all. When she baptizes a child, that action concerns ...
By Jalai Al-Din
I died from the plant, and reappeared in an animal; I died from the animal and became a man; Wherefore then should I fear? When did I grow less by dying? Next time I shall die from the man, That I may grow the wings of angels. From the angel, too, must I seek advance; All things shall perish save His face Once more shall I wing my way above the angels; I shall become that which entereth not the ...
By Chuan Zhi

My first encounter with a Zen teacher happened when I was in my late twenties. Zen had been an interest of mine for nearly a decade before this chance encounter with a person of Zen. I had never thought seriously about actually DOING Zen, but I liked reading the philosophies that came from Zen literature. Doing Zen was, well, something I thought I would never be able to do: it required detaching ...

By Michael Gellert
“Death,” Jung wrote in 1945 not long after his heart attack, “is the hardest thing from the outside and as long as we are outside of it. But once inside you taste of such completeness and peace and fulfillment that you don’t want to return.”1 Jung was speaking here of his out-of-body, near-death experience, whose gripping effect indeed made it difficult for him to return to the world of ...