Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

‘Worldly people carry on deliberations about thinking and not thinking, having enlightenment or not having enlightenment, and fundamental or acquired enlightenment. These are merely worldly people’s categories, which have not been transmitted from buddha to buddha. The thinking of worldly people and the thinking of buddhas are completely different and cannot be compared. The original enlightenment discussed by worldly people and the original enlightenment actualized by buddhas are as far apart from each other as heaven and earth; they are beyond comparison. Even the deliberations of bodhisattvas of the ten stages or three classes do not match the expressions of buddhas. How can worldly people, vainly counting grains of sand, make accurate assessments?

Nevertheless, there are many people who merely agree to the crooked, inverted views of worldly people or of those outside the way, and then mistakenly regard such views as the realm of buddhas. Buddhas say that the unwholesome roots of such people are deep and heavy, and they are to be pitied. However endless the unwholesome roots of such people may be, this tendency is their burden. For now, look into this and release it. Grasping such obstructions and involving yourself with them are not a good direction to pursue.’ (Shobogenzo Gyobutsu Iigi)