The Flavor of Zen

of the great one-liners. I like this one from: http://members.atlantic.net/~gateless/ a site called Gateless Gate:

Zen is understanding yourself.

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A jazz musician I know said everything one needs is in one little book:The Zen Teaching of Huang Po: On the Transmission of Mind. My edition is translated by John Blofeld.This book is still in print and available through http://amazon.com

From the introduction:

"Like most Zen masters, Huang Po taught in parables which were delivered as sermons, anecdotes, and dialogues....It is in this fashion that the Zen master leads his listener into the truth, often by a single phrase designed to destroy his particular demon of ignorance."

It is an eminently quotable book. Today I plan to ponder this:

Its strength once spent, the arrow falls to earth.
You build up lives which won't fulfill your hopes.
How far below the Transcendental Gate
From which one leap will gain the Buddha's realm!

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Finally, below is a list of articles which can be read at a site called Zen Buddhist Texts. http://www.io.com/~snewton/zen/ Go there, click on "Primary Zen Texts" and follow these links to infinity!

ZEN BUDDHIST TEXTS.

• · A Beginner's Guide to Sitting
• · Four Great Vows
• · The Heart of the Prajna Paramita Sutra
• · The Heart Sutra in Buddhist Sanskrit
• · The Diamond Cutter Sutra
• · Affirming Faith In Mind
• · The Four Noble Truths
• · Chao-chou's Dog
• · The Sound of One Hand
• · Dictionary of Zen and Buddhist terms
• · Traditional Lineage of Zen

Have a beautiful May!

The copyright of the article The Flavor of Zen in Buddhism is owned by Yeshe Chodon. Permission to republish The Flavor of Zen in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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