Friday, January 14, 2011

Study Hall - Shobogenzo

"Even if you make hundreds of plans, and create thousands of means to save yourselves, in the end you will turn to dust in the tomb. Furthermore, driven by a king of a small nation and his retainers, you run around east and west, with thousands of hardships and myriad sufferings of body and mind. You give your life over to loyalty, even to the extent of following your king to the grave. A future driven by worldly obligations is clouds and mists of darkness. Many people since olden times have been occupied by minor pursuits and have given up their lives. Those human lives might have been saved, as they could have become vessels of the way.
Now that you have met the true dharma, study it even if you have to give up the lives of hundreds and thousands of kalpas. Why would you give up your life for worthless petty people instead of devoting yourself to the broad and profound buddha dharma? Neither those who are wise nor those who are not should hesitate in making this decision. Think quietly. When the true dharma is not spread, you cannot meet it even if you want to give up your life for it. Wish now for the self that meets the true dharma. Be ashamed of the self that would not offer your life for the sake of the true dharma. If there is anything to be ashamed of, it is this" - 'Continuous Practice', 'Gyoji', part two.

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