The Lion and the Lamb

One of the best known symbols in Christianity is the Lion and the Lamb. Christ is the Lamb, who takes into Himself the sins of the men. At the same time He is the Lion, bringing the sword with him. Together, the lion and the lamb simbolize the peace of Christ.

The lion symbol is also much used in Buddhism. Buddha himself compared his teaching with the lion roar. The lion roar may be the most powerful in nature, capable of being heared many miles away. Similarly, the Buddha's teachings keep going throughout centuries, benefiting a multitude of beings.

In the Gospel, Christ is insulted repeateadly, yet never answering his accuser with offenses. He receives all kinds of abuses, is tortured and crucified. He receives everything over Himself, without defense, so mild and fragile as a lamb. "If someone strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other one as well, and if someone takes your coat, don't keep back your shirt, either." (Luke 6:29)

In the Akkosa Sutta from Tripitaka, Buddha is ferociously insulted by the brahmin Akkosaka Bharadvaja because a member of his family left home to follow the Buddha's Sangha. Buddha hears all insults, without complaining or disputing, and afterwards he offers the brahmin a Dharma teaching. The brahmin is so impressed that he also becomes a disciple of Buddha.

The traditional zen text known as Shodoka - Song of Freedom says:
“If folks argue and slander you, let them:
they are playing with fire, trying to burn the sky.
When I hear them, their words are drops of nectar
and show me that this moment is free from conception.
Abusive words are disguised blessings
and my abusers good teachers.
This mind has room for slander and abuse
and is itself unborn compassion and patience.”

But what is the sword of Jesus Christ? Where is the Lion? “"Don't imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! No, I came to bring a sword.” (Matthew 10:34). But if Christ came to save, why He didn't bring peace, but a sword?

Like Christ, Buddha also give us a sword - his teaching, the Buddhist method of practice .He does not conquer the peace for us, only gives us the sword. Everyone has to conquer his own peace, nobody can do that for us. We have to fight to help others and achieve our own peace.

Quotes by Dogen Zenji

"Zazen is not thinking of good, not thinking of bad."

"Set aside all involvements and let the myriad things rest."

"Do not desire to become a buddha; let sitting or lying down drop away. "

"Be mindful of the passing of time, and engage yourself in zazen as though you are saving your head from fire."

"Be moderate in eating and drinking. "

'I asked, "What are words?" The tenzo said, "One, two, three, four, five." I asked again, "What is practice?" "Nothing in the entire universe is hidden."'

"The black dragon jewel you have been searching for, is everywhere."

"Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken. Although its light is wide and great, the moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide. The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in dewdrops on the grass, or even in one drop of water. Enlightenment does not divide you, just as the moon does not break the water. You cannot hinder enlightenment, just as a drop of water does not hinder the moon in the sky. The depth of the drop is the height of the moon. Each reflection, however long or short its duration, manifests the vastness of the dewdrop, and realizes the limitlessness of the moonlight in the sky."

"A zen master's life is one continuous mistake."

"Studying the Buddha way is studying oneself.
Studying oneself is forgetting oneself.
Forgetting oneself is being enlightened by all things.
Being enlightened by all things is to shed the body-mind of oneself, and those of others.
No trace of enlightenment remains, and this traceless enlightenment
continues endlessly."

"That you carry yourself forward and experience the myriad things is delusion. That the myriad things come forward and experience themselves is awakening."

"The true person is
Not anyone in particular;
But like the deep blue color
Of the limitless sky,
It is everyone,
Everywhere in the world."

"Sitting is the gateway of truth to total liberation."

"Those who see worldly life as an obstacle to Dharma see no Dharma in everyday actions; they have not discovered that there are no everyday actions outside of Dharma."

"The color of the mountains is Buddha's body; the sound of running water is his great speech."

"Handle even a single leaf of green in such a way that it manifests the body of the Buddha. This in turn allows the Buddha to manifest through the leaf."

Losing what is here and now

It is funny how easily I lose the imediate moment, the perception that I am here and now. The slightest staggering, and my mind goes away. When that happens, I do not perceive the here and now with sufficient clarity. That is strange, it seems like the mind does not want to deal with what is right in front of it, the ego looks for something else that obeys to its whim, ignoring what is in front of it. It is an escape from reality, from truth, from what it is exactly how it is (suchness). It is a self-mislead, a trick to obbey to its strange will, acting in a way inconsistent with its own nature.

Yet another blog?

Why one more blog? The name says it all.