Zenutiae

Go to a quiet place, sit in lotus posture, and place one hand on top of the other.

Without leaning to either side, bring your ears into alignment with your shoulders.

Open your eyes only halfway and fix your attention on the tip of your nose.

Rest your tongue on the roof of your mouth.

Throw away your body and your life.

Looking from the inside, your self has no mind.

Forget also about your connections with others.

Looking from the outside, there is no mind anywhere to be found.

If random thoughts should occur to you unexpectedly, let them go straight away. Do not follow them. This is the essential technique of zazen.

~ Mugai Nyodai (d. 1298)
( Zen Sourcebook Traditional Documents from China, Korea, and Japan )

Rain, hail, snow, and ice:
All are different,
But when they fall
They become the same water
As the valley stream.

- Ikkyu (1394-1481)

One grain of dust in the eye
Will render the Three Worlds
Too small to see
~ Muso Soseki (1275-1351)

My treasure is the cloud on the peak
The moon over the valley
Travelling east or west
Light and free on the one road
I don’t know whether I’m on the way
Or at home.

~ Muso Soseki (1275-1351)

I’ve left the world far behind,
My robe is covered with moss;
A small bundle of firewood burns,
Brightening the night.

~ Ryokan (1758-1831)