Teachings From Ancient Vietnamese Zen Masters – 186
78 At the Mountain Cottage, Feeling Inspired
I
Nobody ties you; why do you ask for liberation?
Having no unholy thought,
you don’t need to search for the holy.
The monkeys are relaxing;
the horses, tired; and the humans, old.
The cottage in the clouds looks like years ago,
and so does the Zen stupa.
II
Thoughts, rightful and wrongful,
are falling off just like flowers in the morning.
Fame and wealth are chilled in my mind
just like cold, rainy nights.
The flowers are dying;
the rains, gone; and the mountains, serene.
A bird chirps a sound, and the spring is leaving again.
TRẦN NHÂN TÔNG (1258 - 1308)
(COMMENT: Realize that you have no self. While lying, sitting, standing
and walking, constantly see that you have no self, and that nothing has
a self. Then you can see there is not a ‘you’ being tied. Since then, after
that realization, you know something about the working of the mind,
and meditation naturally becomes your flesh. Still, however you realize
that, bad habits are hard to quit; but you already know how to calm the
mind naturally.
Also, monkeys and horses are symbols for the clinging thoughts.
Watching the mind, Zen practitioner sees all the thoughts disappear like
flowers falling off in the morning.)
