This library is built in the open.
If you spot an error, have a suggestion, or just want to say hello — we’d love to hear from you.

"Do you want to dot the eyes?"
Dao said, "I want to." [Yantou] lowered his head and dropped one foot. Dao bowed. Tou said, "What principle do you see?" Dao said, "According to what I see, it is like a speck of residual snow on a red furnace." Tou said, "The lion's cub is skilled at roaring."
The Master's verse says:
"Life does not cease; when will it cease?
In this life, we must know the heart.
Ceasing is just because there are no delusive thoughts.
When delusive thoughts are removed,
The heart ceases; this is the time of rest."
○ "To find an ox, one must look for the tracks; in studying the Way, one looks for the 'no-mind.' If the tracks exist, the ox is still there. The Way of 'no-mind' is easy to find."
Also:
"Pushing aside the thoughts at the gate,
The tree can accommodate the bird that rests.
Those who fly here have no mind;
They come and depart without longing to return.
If a person's heart is like the tree,
It does not deviate from the Way."
Chan Master Wude of Fenyang one day said to the assembly, "Last night, in a dream, I saw my deceased parents. They were looking for wine, meat, and paper money. I could not avoid following the custom, so I arranged [an offering] to sacrifice to them. I prepared it at the granary hall, set up the seats according to secular fashion, offered wine, served meat, and burned paper money. When finished, I gathered the stewards and the head monks
to distribute the remaining food and dishes. The stewards rejected it. Wude sat alone at the banquet, eating and drinking as if nothing were wrong. The whole assembly said, 'How can a monk who drinks wine and eats meat act as a teacher?' They all packed their bags and left, leaving only seven people, including Ciming, Dayu, and Quan Dadao. The next day, Wude ascended the hall and said, 'All those idle thoughts and wild spirits were sent away with just a plate of wine and meat and two stacks of paper money.' The Lotus Sutra says, 'This assembly has no branches or leaves; only the true and real exist.' He then descended from the seat."
The Dongsi Master asked Yangshan, "What kind of person are you?" Yangshan said, "I am a person from Guangnan." [Dongsi] said, "I have heard that Guangnan has the 'Ocean-Suppressing Bright Pearl.' Have you obtained it?" Yangshan said, "I have obtained it." [Dongsi] said, "What color is the pearl?" Yangshan said, "When the moon is bright, it manifests; when the moon is dark, it hides." [Dongsi] said, "Why not present it for this old monk to see?" Yangshan clasped his hands and stepped forward, saying, "Huiji arrived at Weishan yesterday and was asked for this pearl. I was left without words to utter and without reasoning to present." Chan Master Yuanwu Qin said to Chan Master Fojian, "What is the principle here?" Fojian had no words at that time. Suddenly, one day he said,