| Code of Honor (10) Samurai (124) Courage (9) Samurai Religion (123) |
Samurai and Code of Honor. |
Code of Honor
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The Person Insulted, Before Challenge Sent
1. Whenever you believe that you are insulted, if the insult be in public and by words or behavior, never resent it there, if you have ...
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Second's Duty Before Challenge Sent.
1. Whenever you are applied to by a friend to act as his second, before you agree to do so, state distinctly to your principal that you...
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The Party Receiving A Note Before Challenge.
1. When a note is presented to you by an equal, receive it, and read it, although you may suppose it to be from one you do not intend t...
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Duty Of Challenger And His Second Before Fighting.
1. After all efforts for a reconciliation are over, the party aggrieved sends a challenge to his adversary, which is delivered to his s...
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Duty Of Challengee And Second After Challenge Sent.
1. The challengee has no option when negotiation has ceased, but to accept the challenge.
2. The second makes the necessary arrangem...
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Duty Of Principals And Seconds On The Ground.
1. The principals are to be respectful in meeting, and neither by look or expression irritate each other. They are to be wholly passive...
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Who Should Be On The Ground.
1. The principals, seconds, one surgeon and one assistant surgeon to each principal; but the assistant surgeon may be dispensed with.
...
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Arms, And Manner Of Loading And Presenting Them.
1. The arms used should be smooth-bore pistols, not exceeding nine inches in length, with flint and steel. Percussion pistols may be mu...
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The Degrees Of Insult, And How Compromised
1. The prevailing rule is, that words used in retort, although more violent and disrespectful than those first used, will not satisfy,-...
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Appendix
Since the above Code was in press, a friend has favored me with the IRISH CODE OF HONOR, which I had never seen; and it is published as...
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Samurai
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Origin Of Zen In India
To-day Zen as a living faith can be found in its pure form only among
the Japanese Buddhists. You cannot find it in the so-called Gos...
|
Introduction Of Zen Into China By Bodhidharma
An epoch-making event took place in the Buddhist history of China by
Bodhidharma's coming over from Southern India to that country in
...
|
Bodhidharma And The Emperor Wu
No sooner had Bodhidharma landed at Kwang Cheu in Southern China than
he was invited by the Emperor[FN#24] Wu, who was an enthusiastic...
|
Bodhidharma And His Successor The Second Patriarch
China was not, however, an uncultivated[FN#29] land for the seed of
Zen--nay, there had been many practisers of Zen before Bodhidharma...
|
Bodhidharma's Disciples And The Transmission Of The Law[fn#31]
[FN#31] For details, see Chwen Tang Luh and Den Ka Roku, by Kei Zan.
As for the life of Bodhidharma, Dr. B. Matsumoto's 'A Life of...
|
The Second And The Third Patriarchs
After the death of the First Patriarch, in A.D. 528, Hwui Ko did his
best to propagate the new faith over sixty years. On one occasio...
|
The Fourth Patriarch And The Emperor Tai Tsung (tai-so)
The Third[FN#40] Patriarch was succeeded by Tao Sin (Do-shin), who
being initiated at the age of fourteen, was created the Fourth
Pat...
|
The Fifth And The Sixth Patriarchs
Tao Sin transmitted the Law to Hung Jan (Ko-nin), who being educated
from infancy, distinguished himself as the Abbot of the Hwang Mei...
|
The Spiritual Attainment Of The Sixth Patriarch
Some time before his death (in 675 A.D.) the Fifth Patriarch
announced to all disciples that the Spirit of Shakya Muni is hard to
rea...
|
Flight Of The Sixth Patriarch
On the following morning the news of what had happened during the
night flew from mouth to mouth, and some of the enraged brothers
at...
|
The Development Of The Southern And Of The Northern School Of Zen
After the death of the Fifth Patriarch the venerable Shang Siu,
though not the legitimate successor of his master, was not inactive
i...
|
Missionary Activity Of The Sixth Patriarch
As we have seen above, the Sixth Patriarch was a great genius, and
may be justly called a born Zen teacher. He was a man of no
erudi...
|
The Disciples Under The Sixth Patriarch
Some time after this the Sixth Patriarch settled himself down at the
Pao Lin Monastery, better known as Tsao Ki Shan (So-kei-zan), in ...
|
Three Important Elements Of Zen
To understand how Zen developed during some four hundred years after
the Sixth Patriarch, we should know that there are three importan...
|
Decline Of Zen
The blooming prosperity of Zen was over towards the end of the
Southern Sung dynasty (1127-1279), when it began to fade, not being
bi...
|
The Establishment Of The Rin Zai School Of Zen In Japan
[FN#67] The Lin Tsi school was started by Nan Yoh, a prominent
disciple of the Sixth Patriarch, and completed by Lin Tsi or Ri...
|
The Introduction Of The So-to School Of Zen
[FN#75] This school was started by Tsing-Yuen (Sei-gen), an eminent
disciple of the Sixth Patriarch, and completed by Tsing Sh...
|
The Characteristics Of Do-gen The Founder Of The Japanese So To Sect
In the meantime seekers after a new truth gradually began to knock at
his door, and his hermitage was turned into a monastery, now kno...
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The Social State Of Japan When Zen Was Established By Ei-sai And Do-gen
Now we have to observe the condition of the country when Zen was
introduced into Japan by Ei-sai and Do-gen. Nobilities that had so
...
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The Resemblance Of The Zen Monk To The Samurai
Let us point out in brief the similarities between Zen and Japanese
chivalry. First, both the Samurai and the Zen monk have to underg...
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The Honest Poverty Of The Zen Monk And The Samurai
Secondly, the so-called honest poverty is a characteristic of both
the Zen monk and the Samurai. To get rich by an ignoble means is
...
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The Manliness Of The Zen Monk And Of The Samurai
Thirdly, both the Zen monk and the Samurai were distinguished by
their manliness and dignity in manner, sometimes amounting to
rudene...
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The Courage And The Composure Of Mind Of The Zen Monk And Of The Samurai
Fourthly, our Samurai encountered death, as is well known, with
unflinching courage. He would never turn back from, but fight till
h...
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Zen And The Regent Generals Of The Ho-jo Period
No wonder, then, that the representatives of the Samurai class, the
Regent Generals, especially such able rulers as Toki-yori, Toki-mu...
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Zen After The Downfall Of The Ho-jo Regency
Towards the end of the Ho-Jo period,[FN#90] and after the downfall of
the Regency in 1333, sanguinary battles were fought between the
...
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Zen In The Dark Age
The latter half of the Ashikaga period was the age of arms and
bloodshed. Every day the sun shone on the glittering armour of
marchi...
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Zen Under The Toku-gana Shogunate
Peace was at last restored by Iye-yasu, the founder of the Toku-gana
Shogunate (1603-1867). During this period the Shogunate gave
co...
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Zen After The Restoration
After the Restoration of the Mei-ji (1867) the popularity of Zen
began to wane, and for some thirty years remained in inactivity; but
...
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Scripture Is No More Than Waste Paper
[FN#107] Zen is not based on any particular sutra, either of
Mahayana or of Hinayana. There are twofold Tripitakas (or the three
co...
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No Need Of The Scriptural Authority For Zen
Some Occidental scholars erroneously identify Buddhism with the
primitive faith of Hinayanism, and are inclined to call Mahayanism, a
...
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The Usual Explanation Of The Canon
An eminent Chinese Buddhist scholar, well known as Ten Dai Dai Shi
(A.D. 538-597), arranged the whole preachings of Shakya Muni in a
...
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Sutras Used By Zen Masters
Ten Dai failed to explain away the discrepancies and contradictions
of which the Canon is full, and often contradicted himself by the
...
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A Sutra Equal In Size To The Whole World
The holy writ that Zen masters admire is not one of parchment nor of
palm-leaves, nor in black and white, but one written in heart and...
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Great Men And Nature
All great men, whether they be poets or scientists or religious men
or philosophers, are not mere readers of books, but the perusers o...
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The Absolute And Reality Are But An Abstraction
A grain of sand you, trample upon has a deeper significance than a
series of lectures by your verbal philosopher whom you respect. It...
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The Sermon Of The Inanimate
The Scripture of Zen is written with facts simple and familiar, so
simple and familiar with everyday life that they escape observation...
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The Ancient Buddhist Pantheon
The ancient Buddhist pantheon was full of deities or Buddhas,
3,000[FN#137] in number, or rather countless, and also of
Bodhisattvas ...
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Zen Is Iconoclastic
For the followers of Bodhidharma, however, this conception of Buddha
seemed too crude to be accepted unhesitatingly and the doctrine t...
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Buddha Is Unnamable
Give a definite name to Deity, He would be no more than what the name
implies. The Deity under the name of Brahman necessarily differ...
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Buddha The Universal Life
Zen conceives Buddha as a Being, who moves, stirs, inspires,
enlivens, and vitalizes everything. Accordingly, we may call Him the
Un...
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Life And Change
A peculiar phase of life is change which appears in the form of
growth and decay. Nobody can deny the transitoriness of life. One
o...
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Pessimistic View Of The Ancient Hindus
In addition to this, the new theory of matter has entirely over
thrown the old conception of the unchanging atoms, and they are now
r...
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Hinayanism And Its Doctrine
The doctrine of Transience was the first entrance gate of Hinayanism.
Transience never fails to deprive us of what is dear and near t...
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Change As Seen By Zen
Zen, like Hinayanism, does not deny the doctrine of Transience, but
it has come to a view diametrically opposite to that of the Hindus...
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Life And Change
Transformation and change are the essential features of life; life is
not transformation nor change itself, as Bergson seems to assume...
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Life Change And Hope
The doctrine of Transcience never drives us to the pessimistic view
of life. On the contrary, it gives us an inexhaustible source of
...
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Everything Is Living According To Zen
Everything alive has a strong innate tendency to preserve itself, to
assert itself, to push itself forward, and to act on its environm...
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The Creative Force Of Nature And Humanity
The innate tendency of self-preservation, which manifests itself as
mechanical force or chemical affinity in the inorganic nature,
un...
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Universal Life Is Universal Spirit
These considerations naturally lead us to see that Universal Life is
not a blind vital force, but Creative Spirit, or Mind, or
Consci...
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Poetical Intuition And Zen
Since Universal Life or Spirit permeates the universe, the poetical
intuition of man never fails to find it, and to delight in everyth...
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Enlightened Consciousness
In addition to these considerations, which mainly depend on indirect
experience, we can have direct experience of life within us. In ...
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Buddha Dwelling In The Individual Mind
Enlightened Consciousness in the individual mind acquires for its
possessor, not a relative knowledge of things as his intellect does,...
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Enlightened Consciousness Is Not An Intellectual Insight
Enlightened Consciousness is not a bare intellectual insight, for it
is full of beautiful emotions. It loves, caresses, embraces, and...
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Our Conception Of Buddha Is Not Final
Has, then, the divine nature of Universal Spirit been completely and
exhaustively revealed in our Enlightened Consciousness? To this
...
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How To Worship Buddha
The author of Vimalakirtti-nirdeca-sutra well explains our attitude
towards Buddha when he says: We ask Buddha for nothing. We ask
D...
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Man Is Good-natured According To Mencius
Oriental scholars, especially the Chinese men of letters, seem to
have taken so keen an interest in the study of human nature that ...
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Man Is Bad-natured According To Siun Tsz
The weaknesses of Mencius's theory are fully exposed by another
diametrically opposed theory propounded by Siun Tsz (Jun-shi) and h...
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Man Is Both Good-natured And Bad-natured According To Yan Hiung
According to Yang Hiung and his followers, good is no less real than
evil, and evil is no more unreal than good. Therefore man must b...
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Man Is Neither Good-natured Nor Bad-natured According To Su Shih
The difficulty may be avoided by a theory given by Su Shih and other
scholars influenced by Buddhism, which maintains that man is ne...
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There Is No Mortal Who Is Purely Moral
By nature man should be either good or bad; or he should be good as
well as bad; or he should be neither good nor bad. There can be n...
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There Is No Mortal Who Is Non-moral Or Purely Immoral
The same is the case with the third and the fourth class of people
who are assumed as non-moral or purely immoral. There is no person...
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Where Then Does The Error Lie?
Where, then, does the error lie in the four possible propositions
respecting man's nature? It lies not in their subject, but in the
...
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Man Is Not Good-natured Nor Bad-natured But Buddha-natured
We have had already occasion to observe that Zen teaches
Buddha-nature, which all sentient beings are endowed with. The term
'Buddha...
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The Parable Of The Robber Kih
Chwang Tsz (So-shi) remarks in a humorous way to the following
effect: The followers of the great robber and murderer Kih asked him...
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Wang Yang Ming (o-yo-mei) And A Thief
One evening when Wang was giving a lecture to a number of students on
his famous doctrine that all human beings are endowed with
Cons...
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The Bad Are The Good In The Egg
This is not only the case with a robber or a murderer, but also with
ordinary people. There are many who are honest and good in their...
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The Great Person And Small Person
For these reasons Zen proposes to call man Buddha-natured or
Good-natured in a sense transcendental to the duality of good and
bad. ...
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The Theory Of Buddha-nature Adequately Explains The Ethical States Of Man
This theory of Buddha-nature enables us to get an insight into the
origin of morality. The first awakening of Buddha-nature within ma...
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Buddha-nature Is The Common Source Of Morals
Furthermore, Buddha-nature or real self, being the seat of love and
the nucleus of sincerity, forms the warp and woof of all moral
ac...
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The Parable Of A Drunkard
Now the question arises, If all human beings are endowed with
Buddha-nature, why have they not come naturally to be Enlightened?
To a...
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Shakya Muni And The Prodigal Son
A great trouble with us is that we do not believe in half the good
that we are born with. We are just like the only son of a
well-to...
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The Parable Of The Monk And The Stupid Woman
The confused or unenlightened may be compared with a monk and a
stupid woman in a Japanese parable which runs as follows: One
evening...
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Each Smile A Hymn Each Kindly Word A Prayer
The glorious sun of Buddha-nature shines in the zenith of Enlightened
Consciousness, but men still dream a dream of illusion. Bells a...
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The World Is In The Making
Our assertion is far from assuming that life is now complete, and is
in its best state. On the contrary, it is full of defects and
s...
|
The Progress And Hope Of Life
How many myriads of years have passed since the germs of life first
made appearance on earth none can tell; how many thousands of summ...
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The Betterment Of Life
Again, people nowadays seem to feel keenly the wound of the
economical results of war, but they are unfeeling to its moral
injuries. ...
|
The Buddha Of Mercy
Milton says:
Virtue may be assailed, but never hurt;
Surprised by unjust force, but not enthralled.
But evil on itself shall back ...
|
Enlightenment Is Beyond Description And Analysis
In the foregoing chapters we have had several occasions to refer to
the central problem of Zen or Enlightenment, whose content it is
...
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Enlightenment Implies An Insight Into The Nature Of Self
We cannot pass over, however, this weighty problem without saying a
word. We shall try in this chapter to present Enlightenment befor...
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The Irrationality Of The Belief Of Immortality
Occidental minds believe in a mysterious entity under the name of
soul, just as Indian thinkers believe in the so-called subtle body
...
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The Examination Of The Notion Of Self
The belief in immortality is based on the strong instinct of
self-preservation that calls forth an insatiable longing for
longevity. ...
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Nature Is The Mother Of All Things
Furthermore, man has come into existence out of Nature. He is her
child. She provided him food, raiment, and shelter. She nourishes...
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Real Self
If there be no individual soul either in mind or body, where does
personality lie? What is Real Self? How does it differ from soul?
...
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The Awakening Of The Innermost Wisdom
Having set ourselves free from the misconception of Self, next we
must awaken our innermost wisdom, pure and divine, called the Mind o...
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Zen Is Not Nihilistic
Zen judged from ancient Zen masters' aphorisms may seem, at the first
sight, to be idealistic in an extreme form, as they say: Mind is...
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Zen And Idealism
Next Zen makes use of Idealism as explained by the Dharmalaksana
School of Mahayana Buddhism.[FN#197] For instance, the Fourth
Patri...
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Idealism Is A Potent Medicine For Self-created Mental Disease
In so far as Buddhist idealism refers to the world of sense, in so
far as it does not assume that to to be known is identical with to
...
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Idealistic Scepticism Concerning Objective Reality
But extreme Idealism identifies 'to be' with 'to be known,' and
assumes all phenomena to be ideas as illustrated in
Mahayana-vidyamat...
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Idealistic Scepticism Concerning Religion And Morality
Similarly, it is the case with religion and morality. If we admit
extreme idealism as true, there can be nothing objectively real. G...
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An Illusion Concerning Appearance And Reality
To get Enlightened we must next dispel an illusion respecting
appearance and reality. According. to certain religionists, all the
ph...
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Where Does The Root Of The Illusion Lie?
Now let us examine where illusion lies hidden from the view of these
religionists. It lies deeply rooted in the misconstruction of
r...
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Thing-in-itself Means Thing-knowerless
How, then, did philosophers come to consider reality to be unknowable
and hidden behind or beyond appearances? They investigated all ...
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The Four Alternatives And The Five Categories
There are, according to Zen, the four classes of religious and
philosophical views, technically called the Four
Alternatives,[FN#201]...
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Personalism Of B P Bowne
B. P. Bowne[FN#204] says: They (phenomena) are not phantoms or
illusions, nor are they masks of a back-lying reality which is trying
...
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All The Worlds In Ten Directions Are Buddha's Holy Land
We are to resume this problem in the following chapter. Suffice it
to say for the present it is the law of Universal Life that
manif...
|
Epicureanism And Life
There are a good many people always buoyant in spirit and mirthful in
appearance as if born optimists. There are also no fewer person...
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The Errors Of Philosophical Pessimists And Religious Optimists
Philosophical pessimists[FN#214] maintain that there are on earth
many more causes of pain than of pleasure; and that pain exists
pos...
|
The Law Of Balance
Nature governs the world with her law of balance. She puts things
ever in pairs,[FN#216] and leaves nothing in isolation. Positives
...
|
Life Consists In Conflict
Life consists in conflict. So long as man remains a social animal he
cannot live in isolation. All individual hopes and aspirations
...
|
The Mystery Of Life
Thus far we have pointed out the inevitable conflictions in life in
order to prepare ourselves for an insight into the depth of life. ...
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Nature Favours Nothing In Particular
There is another point of view of life, which gave the present writer
no small contentment, and which he believes would cure one of
p...
|
The Law Of Balance In Life
It is also the case with human affairs. Social positions high or
low, occupations spiritual or temporal, work rough or gentle,
educa...
|
The Application Of The Law Of Causation To Morals
Although it may be needless to state here the law of causation at any
length, yet it is not equally needless to say a few words about ...
|
Retribution In The Past The Present And The Future Life
Then a question suggests itself: If there be no soul that survives
body (as shown in the preceding chapter), who will receive the
...
|
The Eternal Life As Taught By Professor Munsterberg
Some philosophical pessimists undervalue life simply because it is
subject to limitation. They ascribe all evils to that condition,
...
|
Life In The Concrete
Life in the concrete, which we are living, greatly differs from life
in the abstract, which exists only in the class-room. It is not
...
|
Difficulties Are No Match For The Optimist
How can we suppose that we, the children of Buddha, are put at the
mercy of petty troubles, or intended to be crushed by obstacles? A...
|
Do Thy Best And Leave The Rest To Providence
There is another point of view which enables us to enjoy life. It is
simply this, that everything is placed in the condition best for...
|
The Method Of Instruction Adopted By Zen Masters
Thus far we have described the doctrine of Zen inculcated by both
Chinese and Japanese masters, and in this chapter we propose to
ske...
|
The First Step In The Mental Training
Some of the old Zen masters are said to have attained to supreme
Enlightenment after the practice of Meditation for one week, some for...
|
The Next Step In The Mental Training
In the next place we have to strive to be the master of our bodies.
With most of the unenlightened, body holds absolute control over
...
|
The Third Step In The Mental Training
To be the lord of mind is more essential to Enlightenment, which, in
a sense, is the clearing away of illusions, the putting out of me...
|
Zazen Or The Sitting In Meditation
Habit comes out of practice, and forms character by degrees, and
eventually works out destiny. Therefore we must practically sow
opt...
|
The Breathing Exercise Of The Yogi
Breathing exercise is one of the practices of Yoga, and somewhat
similar in its method and end to those of Zen. We quote here[FN#247]...
|
Calmness Of Mind
The Yogi breathing above mentioned is fit rather for physical
exercise than for mental balance, and it will be beneficial if you
take...
|
Zazen And The Forgetting Of Self
Zazen is a most effectual means of destroying selfishness, the root
of all Sin, folly, vice, and evil, since it enables us to see that...
|
Zen And Supernatural Power
Yoga[FN#250] claims that various supernatural powers can be acquired
by Meditation, but Zen does not make any such absurd claims. It
...
|
True Dhyana
To sit in Meditation is not the only method of practising Zazen. We
practise Dhyana in sitting, in standing, and in walking, says one...
|
Let Go Of Your Idle Thoughts
[FN#263] A famous Zenist, Mu-go-koku-shi, is said to have replied to
every questioner, saying: Let go of your idle thoughts.
...
|
The Five Ranks Of Merit
Thus far we have stated how to train our body and mind according to
the general rules and customs established by Zenists. And here we...
|
The Ten Pictures Of The Cowherd
[FN#275] The pictures were drawn by Kwoh Ngan (Kaku-an), a Chinese
Zenist. For the details, see Zen-gaku-ho-ten.
Besides these...
|
Zen And Nirvana
The beatitude of Zen is Nirvana, not in the Hinayanistic sense of the
term, but in the sense peculiar to the faith. Nirvana literally...
|
Nature And Her Lesson
Nature offers us nectar and ambrosia every day, and everywhere we go
the rose and lily await us. Spring visits us men, says
Gu-do,[F...
|
The Beatitude Of Zen
We are far from denying, as already shown in the foregoing chapters,
the existence of troubles, pains, diseases, sorrows, deaths in li...
|
Courage
|
The Courage Of Self-conquest
THE highest courage is impossible without self-conquest. And
self-conquest is never easy. A man may be a marvel of physical courage,...
|
The Courage That Faces Obstacles
"YOU may expect to spend the rest of your days tied to your chair."
Theodore Roosevelt's physician made this disconcerting announc...
|
The Courage Of Industry
ANYBODY can drift, but only the man or woman of courage can breast the
current, can fight on upstream.
It is so easy to be idle o...
|
The Courage Of Facing Consequences
YOUNG people sometimes play the game of "Consequences." The sport
increases in proportion to the strangeness of the results.
Perh...
|
Courage For The Sake Of Others
FROM Norway comes a moving tale of a lighthouse keeper. One day he went
to the distant shore for provisions. A storm arose, and he w...
|
Golden Rule Courage
"There is so much good in the worst of us,
And so much bad in the best of us,
That it hardly becomes ...
|
Courage Through Companionship
THE world is full of lonely people--people who keep to themselves,
turning away from every approach of others, from all invitations ...
|
Accidents
A man had planned a three-day trip with care. On paper everything looked
promising for a combination of business and pleasure that wou...
|
God The Source Of Courage
"BE strong and of a good courage!" More than three thousand years ago
the inspiring words were spoken by a great military leader to ...
|
Samurai Religion
|
Origin Of Zen In India
To-day Zen as a living faith can be found in its pure form only among
the Japanese Buddhists. You cannot find it in the so-called Gos...
|
Introduction Of Zen Into China By Bodhidharma
An epoch-making event took place in the Buddhist history of China by
Bodhidharma's coming over from Southern India to that country in
...
|
Bodhidharma And The Emperor Wu
No sooner had Bodhidharma landed at Kwang Cheu in Southern China than
he was invited by the Emperor Wu, who was an enthusiastic
Buddh...
|
Bodhidharma And His Successor The Second Patriarch
China was not, however, an uncultivated land for the seed of
Zen--nay, there had been many practisers of Zen before Bodhidharma.
...
|
Bodhidharma's Disciples And The Transmission Of The Law
For details, see Chwen Tang Luh and Den Ka Roku, by Kei Zan.
As for the life of Bodhidharma, Dr. B. Matsumoto's 'A Life of
Bodhi...
|
The Second And The Third Patriarchs
After the death of the First Patriarch, in A.D. 528, Hwui Ko did his
best to propagate the new faith over sixty years. On one occasio...
|
The Fourth Patriarch And The Emperor Tai Tsung Tai-so
The Third Patriarch was succeeded by Tao Sin (Do-shin), who
being initiated at the age of fourteen, was created the Fourth
Patriarch ...
|
The Fifth And The Sixth Patriarchs
Tao Sin transmitted the Law to Hung Jan (Ko-nin), who being educated
from infancy, distinguished himself as the Abbot of the Hwang Mei...
|
The Spiritual Attainment Of The Sixth Patriarch
Some time before his death (in 675 A.D.) the Fifth Patriarch
announced to all disciples that the Spirit of Shakya Muni is hard to
rea...
|
Flight Of The Sixth Patriarch
On the following morning the news of what had happened during the
night flew from mouth to mouth, and some of the enraged brothers
at...
|
The Development Of The Southern And Of The Northern School Of Zen
After the death of the Fifth Patriarch the venerable Shang Siu,
though not the legitimate successor of his master, was not inactive
i...
|
Missionary Activity Of The Sixth Patriarch
As we have seen above, the Sixth Patriarch was a great genius, and
may be justly called a born Zen teacher. He was a man of no
erudi...
|
The Disciples Under The Sixth Patriarch
Some time after this the Sixth Patriarch settled himself down at the
Pao Lin Monastery, better known as Tsao Ki Shan (So-kei-zan), in ...
|
Three Important Elements Of Zen
To understand how Zen developed during some four hundred years after
the Sixth Patriarch, we should know that there are three importan...
|
Decline Of Zen
The blooming prosperity of Zen was over towards the end of the
Southern Sung dynasty (1127-1279), when it began to fade, not being
bi...
|
The Establishment Of The Rin Zai School Of Zen In Japan
The Lin Tsi school was started by Nan Yoh, a prominent
disciple of the Sixth Patriarch, and completed by Lin Tsi or Rin Zai.
...
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The Introduction Of The So-to School Of Zen
This school was started by Tsing-Yuen (Sei-gen), an eminent
disciple of the Sixth Patriarch, and completed by Tsing Shan (To-zan)....
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The Characteristics Of Do-gen The Founder Of The Japanese So To Sect
In the meantime seekers after a new truth gradually began to knock at
his door, and his hermitage was turned into a monastery, now kno...
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The Social State Of Japan When Zen Was Established By Ei-sai And Do-gen
Now we have to observe the condition of the country when Zen was
introduced into Japan by Ei-sai and Do-gen. Nobilities that had so
...
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The Resemblance Of The Zen Monk To The Samurai
Let us point out in brief the similarities between Zen and Japanese
chivalry. First, both the Samurai and the Zen monk have to underg...
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The Honest Poverty Of The Zen Monk And The Samurai
Secondly, the so-called honest poverty is a characteristic of both
the Zen monk and the Samurai. To get rich by an ignoble means is
...
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The Manliness Of The Zen Monk And Of The Samurai
Thirdly, both the Zen monk and the Samurai were distinguished by
their manliness and dignity in manner, sometimes amounting to
rudene...
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The Courage And The Composure Of Mind Of The Zen Monk And Of The Samurai
Fourthly, our Samurai encountered death, as is well known, with
unflinching courage. He would never turn back from, but fight till
h...
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Zen And The Regent Generals Of The Ho-jo Period
No wonder, then, that the representatives of the Samurai class, the
Regent Generals, especially such able rulers as Toki-yori, Toki-mu...
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Zen After The Downfall Of The Ho-jo Regency
Towards the end of the Ho-Jo period, and after the downfall of
the Regency in 1333, sanguinary battles were fought between the
Imperi...
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Zen In The Dark Age
The latter half of the Ashikaga period was the age of arms and
bloodshed. Every day the sun shone on the glittering armour of
marchi...
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Zen Under The Toku-gana Shogunate
Peace was at last restored by Iye-yasu, the founder of the Toku-gana
Shogunate (1603-1867). During this period the Shogunate gave
co...
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Zen After The Restoration
After the Restoration of the Mei-ji (1867) the popularity of Zen
began to wane, and for some thirty years remained in inactivity; but
...
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Scripture Is No More Than Waste Paper
Zen is not based on any particular sutra, either of
Mahayana or of Hinayana. There are twofold Tripitakas (or the three
collection...
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No Need Of The Scriptural Authority For Zen
Some Occidental scholars erroneously identify Buddhism with the
primitive faith of Hinayanism, and are inclined to call Mahayanism, a
...
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The Usual Explanation Of The Canon
An eminent Chinese Buddhist scholar, well known as Ten Dai Dai Shi
(A.D. 538-597), arranged the whole preachings of Shakya Muni in a
...
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Sutras Used By Zen Masters
Ten Dai failed to explain away the discrepancies and contradictions
of which the Canon is full, and often contradicted himself by the
...
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A Sutra Equal In Size To The Whole World
The holy writ that Zen masters admire is not one of parchment nor of
palm-leaves, nor in black and white, but one written in heart and...
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Great Men And Nature
All great men, whether they be poets or scientists or religious men
or philosophers, are not mere readers of books, but the perusers o...
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The Absolute And Reality Are But An Abstraction
A grain of sand you, trample upon has a deeper significance than a
series of lectures by your verbal philosopher whom you respect. It...
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The Sermon Of The Inanimate
The Scripture of Zen is written with facts simple and familiar, so
simple and familiar with everyday life that they escape observation...
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The Ancient Buddhist Pantheon
The ancient Buddhist pantheon was full of deities or Buddhas,
3,000 in number, or rather countless, and also of
Bodhisattvas no less ...
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Zen Is Iconoclastic
For the followers of Bodhidharma, however, this conception of Buddha
seemed too crude to be accepted unhesitatingly and the doctrine t...
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Buddha Is Unnamable
Give a definite name to Deity, He would be no more than what the name
implies. The Deity under the name of Brahman necessarily differ...
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Buddha The Universal Life
Zen conceives Buddha as a Being, who moves, stirs, inspires,
enlivens, and vitalizes everything. Accordingly, we may call Him the
Un...
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Life And Change
A peculiar phase of life is change which appears in the form of
growth and decay. Nobody can deny the transitoriness of life. One
o...
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Pessimistic View Of The Ancient Hindus
In addition to this, the new theory of matter has entirely over
thrown the old conception of the unchanging atoms, and they are now
r...
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Hinayanism And Its Doctrine
The doctrine of Transience was the first entrance gate of Hinayanism.
Transience never fails to deprive us of what is dear and near t...
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Change As Seen By Zen
Zen, like Hinayanism, does not deny the doctrine of Transience, but
it has come to a view diametrically opposite to that of the Hindus...
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Life And Change
Transformation and change are the essential features of life; life is
not transformation nor change itself, as Bergson seems to assume...
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Life Change And Hope
The doctrine of Transcience never drives us to the pessimistic view
of life. On the contrary, it gives us an inexhaustible source of
...
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Everything Is Living According To Zen
Everything alive has a strong innate tendency to preserve itself, to
assert itself, to push itself forward, and to act on its environm...
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The Creative Force Of Nature And Humanity
The innate tendency of self-preservation, which manifests itself as
mechanical force or chemical affinity in the inorganic nature,
un...
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Universal Life Is Universal Spirit
These considerations naturally lead us to see that Universal Life is
not a blind vital force, but Creative Spirit, or Mind, or
Consci...
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Poetical Intuition And Zen
Since Universal Life or Spirit permeates the universe, the poetical
intuition of man never fails to find it, and to delight in everyth...
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Enlightened Consciousness
In addition to these considerations, which mainly depend on indirect
experience, we can have direct experience of life within us. In ...
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Buddha Dwelling In The Individual Mind
Enlightened Consciousness in the individual mind acquires for its
possessor, not a relative knowledge of things as his intellect does,...
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Enlightened Consciousness Is Not An Intellectual Insight
Enlightened Consciousness is not a bare intellectual insight, for it
is full of beautiful emotions. It loves, caresses, embraces, and...
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Our Conception Of Buddha Is Not Final
Has, then, the divine nature of Universal Spirit been completely and
exhaustively revealed in our Enlightened Consciousness? To this
...
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How To Worship Buddha
The author of Vimalakirtti-nirdeca-sutra well explains our attitude
towards Buddha when he says: "We ask Buddha for nothing. We ask
...
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Man Is Good-natured According To Mencius
Oriental scholars, especially the Chinese men of letters, seem to
have taken so keen an interest in the study of human nature that the...
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Man Is Bad-natured According To Siun Tsz Jun-shi
The weaknesses of Mencius's theory are fully exposed by another
diametrically opposed theory propounded by Siun Tsz (Jun-shi) and his
...
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Man Is Both Good-natured And Bad-natured According To Yan Hiung Yo-yu
According to Yang Hiung and his followers, good is no less real than
evil, and evil is no more unreal than good. Therefore man must b...
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Man Is Neither Good-natured Nor Bad-natured According To Su Shi
(So-shoku).
The difficulty may be avoided by a theory given by Su Shih and other
scholars influenced by Buddhism, which maintains tha...
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There Is No Mortal Who Is Purely Moral
By nature man should be either good or bad; or he should be good as
well as bad; or he should be neither good nor bad. There can be n...
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There Is No Mortal Who Is Non-moral Or Purely Immoral
The same is the case with the third and the fourth class of people
who are assumed as non-moral or purely immoral. There is no person...
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Where Then Does The Error Lie?
Where, then, does the error lie in the four possible propositions
respecting man's nature? It lies not in their subject, but in the
...
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Man Is Not Good-natured Nor Bad-natured But Buddha-natured
We have had already occasion to observe that Zen teaches
Buddha-nature, which all sentient beings are endowed with. The term
'Buddha...
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The Parable Of The Robber Kih
Chwang Tsz (So-shi) remarks in a humorous way to the following
effect: "The followers of the great robber and murderer Kih asked him
...
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Wang Yang Ming O-yo-mei And A Thief
One evening when Wang was giving a lecture to a number of students on
his famous doctrine that all human beings are endowed with
Cons...
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The Bad Are The Good In The Egg
This is not only the case with a robber or a murderer, but also with
ordinary people. There are many who are honest and good in their...
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The Great Person And Small Person
For these reasons Zen proposes to call man Buddha-natured or
Good-natured in a sense transcendental to the duality of good and
bad. ...
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The Theory Of Buddha-nature Adequately Explains The Ethical States Of Man
This theory of Buddha-nature enables us to get an insight into the
origin of morality. The first awakening of Buddha-nature within ma...
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Buddha-nature Is The Common Source Of Morals
Furthermore, Buddha-nature or real self, being the seat of love and
the nucleus of sincerity, forms the warp and woof of all moral
ac...
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The Parable Of A Drunkard
Now the question arises, If all human beings are endowed with
Buddha-nature, why have they not come naturally to be Enlightened?
To a...
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Shakya Muni And The Prodigal Son
A great trouble with us is that we do not believe in half the good
that we are born with. We are just like the only son of a
well-to...
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The Parable Of The Monk And The Stupid Woman
The confused or unenlightened may be compared with a monk and a
stupid woman in a Japanese parable which runs as follows: "One
evenin...
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Each Smile A Hymn Each Kindly Word A Prayer
The glorious sun of Buddha-nature shines in the zenith of Enlightened
Consciousness, but men still dream a dream of illusion. Bells a...
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The World Is In The Making
Our assertion is far from assuming that life is now complete, and is
in its best state. On the contrary, it is full of defects and
s...
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The Progress And Hope Of Life
How many myriads of years have passed since the germs of life first
made appearance on earth none can tell; how many thousands of summ...
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The Betterment Of Life
Again, people nowadays seem to feel keenly the wound of the
economical results of war, but they are unfeeling to its moral
injuries. ...
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The Buddha Of Mercy
Milton says:
"Virtue may be assailed, but never hurt;
Surprised by unjust force, but not enthralled.
But evil on itself shall back...
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Enlightenment Is Beyond Description And Analysis
In the foregoing chapters we have had several occasions to refer to
the central problem of Zen or Enlightenment, whose content it is
...
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Enlightenment Implies An Insight Into The Nature Of Self
We cannot pass over, however, this weighty problem without saying a
word. We shall try in this chapter to present Enlightenment befor...
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The Irrationality Of The Belief Of Immortality
Occidental minds believe in a mysterious entity under the name of
soul, just as Indian thinkers believe in the so-called subtle body
...
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The Examination Of The Notion Of Self
The belief in immortality is based on the strong instinct of
self-preservation that calls forth an insatiable longing for
longevity. ...
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Nature Is The Mother Of All Things
Furthermore, man has come into existence out of Nature. He is her
child. She provided him food, raiment, and shelter. She nourishes...
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Real Self
If there be no individual soul either in mind or body, where does
personality lie? What is Real Self? How does it differ from soul?
...
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The Awakening Of The Innermost Wisdom
Having set ourselves free from the misconception of Self, next we
must awaken our innermost wisdom, pure and divine, called the Mind o...
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Zen Is Not Nihilistic
Zen judged from ancient Zen masters' aphorisms may seem, at the first
sight, to be idealistic in an extreme form, as they say: "Mind i...
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Zen And Idealism
Next Zen makes use of Idealism as explained by the Dharmalaksana
School of Mahayana Buddhism. For instance, the Fourth
Patriarch say...
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Idealism Is A Potent Medicine For Self-created Mental Disease
In so far as Buddhist idealism refers to the world of sense, in so
far as it does not assume that to to be known is identical with to
...
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Idealistic Scepticism Concerning Objective Reality
But extreme Idealism identifies 'to be' with 'to be known,' and
assumes all phenomena to be ideas as illustrated in
Mahayana-vidyamat...
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Idealistic Scepticism Concerning Religion And Morality
Similarly, it is the case with religion and morality. If we admit
extreme idealism as true, there can be nothing objectively real. G...
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An Illusion Concerning Appearance And Reality
To get Enlightened we must next dispel an illusion respecting
appearance and reality. According. to certain religionists, all the
ph...
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Where Does The Root Of The Illusion Lie?
Now let us examine where illusion lies hidden from the view of these
religionists. It lies deeply rooted in the misconstruction of
r...
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Thing-in-itself Means Thing-knowerless
How, then, did philosophers come to consider reality to be unknowable
and hidden behind or beyond appearances? They investigated all ...
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The Four Alternatives And The Five Categories
There are, according to Zen, the four classes of religious and
philosophical views, technically called the Four
Alternatives, of life...
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Personalism Of B P Bowne
B. P. Bowne says: They (phenomena) are not phantoms or
illusions, nor are they masks of a back-lying reality which is trying
to peer ...
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All The Worlds In Ten Directions Are Buddha's Holy Land
We are to resume this problem in the following chapter. Suffice it
to say for the present it is the law of Universal Life that
manif...
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Epicureanism And Life
There are a good many people always buoyant in spirit and mirthful in
appearance as if born optimists. There are also no fewer person...
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The Errors Of Philosophical Pessimists And Religious Optimists
Philosophical pessimists maintain that there are on earth
many more causes of pain than of pleasure; and that pain exists
positively,...
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The Law Of Balance
Nature governs the world with her law of balance. She puts things
ever in pairs, and leaves nothing in isolation. Positives
stand i...
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Life Consists In Conflict
Life consists in conflict. So long as man remains a social animal he
cannot live in isolation. All individual hopes and aspirations
...
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The Mystery Of Life
Thus far we have pointed out the inevitable conflictions in life in
order to prepare ourselves for an insight into the depth of life. ...
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Nature Favours Nothing In Particular
There is another point of view of life, which gave the present writer
no small contentment, and which he believes would cure one of
p...
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The Law Of Balance In Life
It is also the case with human affairs. Social positions high or
low, occupations spiritual or temporal, work rough or gentle,
educa...
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The Application Of The Law Of Causation To Morals
Although it may be needless to state here the law of causation at any
length, yet it is not equally needless to say a few words about ...
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Retribution In The Past The Present And The Future Life
Then a question suggests itself: If there be no soul that survives
body (as shown in the preceding chapter), who will receive the
ret...
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The Eternal Life As Taught By Professor Munsterberg
Some philosophical pessimists undervalue life simply because it is
subject to limitation. They ascribe all evils to that condition,
...
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Life In The Concrete
Life in the concrete, which we are living, greatly differs from life
in the abstract, which exists only in the class-room. It is not
...
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Difficulties Are No Match For The Optimist
How can we suppose that we, the children of Buddha, are put at the
mercy of petty troubles, or intended to be crushed by obstacles? A...
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Do Thy Best And Leave The Rest To Providence
There is another point of view which enables us to enjoy life. It is
simply this, that everything is placed in the condition best for...
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The Method Of Instruction Adopted By Zen Masters
Thus far we have described the doctrine of Zen inculcated by both
Chinese and Japanese masters, and in this chapter we propose to
ske...
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The First Step In The Mental Training
Some of the old Zen masters are said to have attained to supreme
Enlightenment after the practice of Meditation for one week, some for...
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The Next Step In The Mental Training
In the next place we have to strive to be the master of our bodies.
With most of the unenlightened, body holds absolute control over
...
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The Third Step In The Mental Training
To be the lord of mind is more essential to Enlightenment, which, in
a sense, is the clearing away of illusions, the putting out of me...
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Zazen Or The Sitting In Meditation
Habit comes out of practice, and forms character by degrees, and
eventually works out destiny. Therefore we must practically sow
opt...
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The Breathing Exercise Of The Yogi
Breathing exercise is one of the practices of Yoga, and somewhat
similar in its method and end to those of Zen. We quote here
Yogi R...
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Calmness Of Mind
The Yogi breathing above mentioned is fit rather for physical
exercise than for mental balance, and it will be beneficial if you
take...
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Zazen And The Forgetting Of Self
Zazen is a most effectual means of destroying selfishness, the root
of all Sin, folly, vice, and evil, since it enables us to see that...
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Zen And Supernatural Power
Yoga claims that various supernatural powers can be acquired
by Meditation, but Zen does not make any such absurd claims. It
rather ...
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Let Go Of Your Idle Thoughts
A famous Zenist, Mu-go-koku-shi, is said to have replied to
every questioner, saying: "Let go of your idle thoughts."
A Brahm...
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The Five Ranks Of Merit
Thus far we have stated how to train our body and mind according to
the general rules and customs established by Zenists. And here we...
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The Ten Pictures Of The Cowherd
The pictures were drawn by Kwoh Ngan (Kaku-an), a Chinese
Zenist. For the details, see Zen-gaku-ho-ten.
Besides these Five Ra...
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Zen And Nirvana
The beatitude of Zen is Nirvana, not in the Hinayanistic sense of the
term, but in the sense peculiar to the faith. Nirvana literally...
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Nature And Her Lesson
Nature offers us nectar and ambrosia every day, and everywhere we go
the rose and lily await us. "Spring visits us men," says
Gu-do,...
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The Beatitude Of Zen
We are far from denying, as already shown in the foregoing chapters,
the existence of troubles, pains, diseases, sorrows, deaths in li...
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