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Zen Master Truc Lam No. 15
To live joyfully in the world means to dwell amidst the bustling city, yet keep a mind simple and natural like one who lives in the mountains and forests, letting go of craving and attachment in order to realize a nature that is at ease and free. When the city streets are quiet, when gossip and disputes rest, we can hear the birds singing and enjoy true peace. The image of the silver moon in the blue sky reflects the Buddha nature in our heart when the water of our mind is still. Mindfulness is the “miraculous medicine” that transforms us from within; we do not seek immortality outside ourselves. On the contrary, the sun of wisdom—the sun of Prajñā—nourishes true happiness. The Pure Land is not some distant realm, but is the purity of heart present in each one of us.
A practitioner needs to:
- Restrain wandering thoughts, not allowing greed or anger to arise;
- Contemplate when wandering thoughts have already appeared so that they naturally cease;
- Cut off the two deluded notions of “self” and “other” so that the indestructible diamond nature can manifest;
- Practice reciting the Lotus Sutra, which has more than sixty thousand words, divided into seven scrolls, or simply recite a few lines such as “With eyes of loving-kindness, looking at all beings, merit and virtue gather like an ocean, boundless,” in order to transform wrongdoing and receive the inner radiance.
Live simply—eat vegetables and fruits without discriminating whether they are bitter or not delicious, wear coarse black or white cloth, it is all fine—keep the precepts as armor to protect the mind from impermanence. True joy comes from virtue; simple affection is more precious than palaces, and even three small tiles can contain deep happiness when our heart is at ease. To practice is to play; to read the sutras without pressure, but to savor each word and sentence, to nourish our innate brightness, and to dwell in peace right in the present moment.
