When One First Seeks The

Prefer To Be Defeated In The Presence Of The Wise Than To Excel Among Fools.

Be Moderate In Eating And Drinking. Mindful Of The Passing Of Time, Engage Yourself In Zazen As Though Saving Your Head From Fire.

A Fish Swims In The Ocean, And No Matter How Far It Swims There Is No End To The Water. A Bird Flies In The Sky, And No Matter How Far It Flies There Is No End To The Air. However The Fish And The Bird Have Never Left Their Elements. Thus Each Of Them Totally Covers Its Full Range, And Each Of Them Totally Experiences Its Realm... Know That Water Is Life And Air Is Life. The Bird Is Life And The Fish Is Life. Life Must Be The Bird And Life Must Be The Fish... Practice, Enlightenment And People Are Like This.

When A Buddha Is Painted, Not Only A Clay Altar Or Lump Of Earth Is Used, But The Thirty-two Marks, A Blade Of Grass, And The Cultivation Of Wisdom For Incalculable Eons Are Used. As A Buddha Has Been Painted On A Single Scroll In This Way, All Buddhas Are Painted Buddhas, And All Painted Buddhas Are Actual Buddhas.

Emptiness Is Bound To Bloom, Like Hundreds Of Grasses Blossoming.