Japanese Koan
Satori
Tapestry of Aphorisms
If you overesteem great men,
People become powerless.
If you overvalue possessions,
People begin to steal.
The Master leads
By emptying people’s minds
And filling their cores,
By weakening their ambition
And toughening their resolve.
She helps people lose everything
They know, everything they desire,
And creates confusion
In those who think that they know.
Practice not-doing.
And everything will fall into place.
The Tao doesn’t take sides;
It gives birth to both good and evil.
The Master doesn’t take sides;
She welcomes both saints and sinners.
The Tao is like a bellows;
It is empty yet infinitely capable.
The more you use it, the more it
Produces;
The more you talk of it, the less you understand.
Hold on to the center.
When people see some things as
Beautiful,
Other things become ugly.
When people see some things as Good,
Other things become bad.
Being and Non-being create each other.
Difficult and easy support each other.
Long and short define each other.
High and low depend on each other.
Before and after follow each other.
Therefore the Master
Acts without doing anything
And teaches without saying anything.
Things arise and she lets them come;
Things disappear and she lets them go.
She has but doesn’t possess,
Acts but doesn’t expect.
When her work is done, she forgets it.
That is why it lasts forever.
Do you not know the ease of the man of the Way;
One who has gone beyond learning,
And whose state is “non-action”,
Who neither suppresses thoughts, nor seeks the “truth”;
To him the reality of ignorance is the Buddha Nature.
The empty illusory is the Dharmakaya.
When one who is awakened to the,
Dharma-body, there are no objects;
The essence of all things comes from
The self nature — Buddha!
The five aggregates — merely floating
Clouds aimlessly coming and going;
The Three Poisons — bubbles that
Appear and disappear.
Release the Four Elements; Cling to
Nothing!
And in the midst of Nirvana you may
Eat and Drink!
Seeing that all things are not lasting
And are Void,
One attains the Great Perfect
Enlightenment of the Tathagatas.
Footnote: Wikipedia states, “Satori means the experience of awakening (“enlightenment”) or apprehension of the true nature of reality. It is often considered an experience which cannot be expressed in words. While the term satori is derived from the Japanese verb “to know” (satoru), it is distinct from the philosophical concept of knowledge as it represents a transcendence of the distinction between one that knows and knowledge.
D. T. Suzuki, a Japanese author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were influential in the West, described “… looking into one’s nature or the opening of satori”; and said “This acquiring of a new point of view in our dealings with life and the world is popularly called by Japanese Zen students ‘satori’ (wu in Chinese). It is really another name for Enlightenment (anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi)
The state of being in absolute flow, observing from a place of non judgement, allowing things to come when they do and letting it go when something has run its course, is the ultimate state of Satori. That point of no return, where light and dark co-exist, the place of empowerment, of awakening. Catharsis, Epiphany, Samadhi are the terms often used interchangeably when describing an enlightening experience.
Once you awaken, you are no longer interested in judging those who sleep.
A few messages were wanting to come forth, it may/may not resonate with all. Take what does and leave the rest:
- The word “Outgrow” is being shown to me everywhere quite a lot lately. For some of you, you have either outgrown a job, a friendship, relationship, situationships, habits, etc. This is your cue to cut it loose and move on. Speaking of which, our dearest friend, Kat Magik, left me a loving message past week, sharing how she intends on focusing on her healing work, for the time being and would be taking a long hiatus from writing. (We’ll miss your heartwarming presence here, my friend! Please join back Medium soon)
- “Silence” is going to play a pivotal role for some of you. Speak only when absolutely necessary.
- “Your vibe attracts your tribe”. You are going to attract people on a similar mental and spiritual wavelength as yours. Don’t forget to vibe higher!
- For some of you “Its raining riches, hallelujah”!
And a Kimo written in response to a prompt invitation by Patrick M. Ohana, William J Spirdione and Somsubhra Banerjee;
Burning Yearning
יודע הו נזיר, כמיהה אינה
מחפש
כמו אהבה באהבה כך מתחברת
רעם אושר שלא נגמר
Know oh hermit, yearning is not seeking
As love with love so connects
Bliss thunder unending
Kimo is an Israeli version of a Japanese Haiku.
Original trail of the Uncommon Poetic Forms prompt of Literary Impulse can be traced below;
Thank you so much for sharing your time and energy, beloved friends!
Over and Out from the Empyrean Fields✌🏻☮️
