This is an exquisite truth:
Saints and ordinary folks are the same from the start.
Inquiring about a difference
is like asking to borrow string when you’ve got a good strong rope.
Every Dharma is known in the heart.
After a rain, the mountain colors intensify.
Once you become familiar with the design of fate’s illusions
Your ink-well will contain all of life and death.
– Hsu Yun
(Thank you once again to Whiskey River for this wisdom.)
Hsu Yun (1840-1959) was a great Chán master, and one of the most significant in Chinese history. Chán is less well known in the West compared to Japanese Zen, but the teachings of Hsu Yun have persisted in China and Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam and Myanmar.
