Write an Enlightening Verse!

In Chinese Buddhism, there is story that illustrates Ch'an teaching, whereby the master tests the disciple's ability to intuit the truth, really well. The Fifth Patriarch Hung-Jen asked his pupils one day to examine their own minds and then write a verse.

He said..

"he who is enlightened use his perfect vision of self-nature and write me a verse. When I look at his verse, if it reveals deep understanding, I shall give him the robe and the Law and make him the Sixth Patriarch..."

Hui-Neng was to become his successor. He wrote two verses:

"The tree of Perfect Wisdom is originally no tree.
Nor has the bright mirror any frame.
Buddha-nature is forever clear and pure.
Where is there any dust?"

and...

"The mind is the tree of Perfect Wisdom.
The body is the clear mirror.
The clear mirror is originally clear and pure.
Where has it been affected by any dust?"

So ladies and gentlemen.. here's your chance to think up and share an enlightening verse! No rules, but this has to be your own work!

(For the record I'm not a Buddhist but I thought this could be an awesome and insightful exercise)

"Once I was Young & Foolish...And now I'm Old & Stupid"

It ain't pretty but...

The more seeds of love you sow,
the more you shall reap,
but leave your heart empty and barren,
you will surely starve.

reply to post by YouDeserveToKnow


have no expectations and one day you may be happily surprised
give all that you have then learn to accept
each day a blessing gone so soon
our final day is our finest day, under the stars and the light of the moon

Originally posted by Mister_Bit
The more seeds of love you sow,
the more you shall reap,
but leave your heart empty and barren,
you will surely starve.

that was really pretty and it made my eyes leak

i can’t see the tree of perfect wisdom
the frame around my mirror frustrates me
i feel clogged and dusty
where on earth is the clear light

i close my eyes
to avoid the mirror and dust
and participating with a pure ray of light
i hear the wind in the tree of perfect wisdom

reply to post by YouDeserveToKnow


As the tone of the bell as it is rung
rings steady, true and right,
so the words of man must also be sung
loud, clear and bright.

Everyone is on their own path, moving at their own pace
Perennial expectations from others may become ensnared in futility
Disappointment may fester into animosity
Lead by example instead of imposing will over others...

spec

where there was once light,
Now a solitary chair.
A frozen finger
Excavates the mind
Echoes, reflecting from the sun
And all of time undone.

Past my prime for love and blind, to the knowledge that was before me.
Frustration, sorrow and the inablity to breathe consume me within it's cold fire.
Making me scream to the cold world before me. Collapse onto my knees, where am I in this clear light ? Where ? I look into the mirror before me and there is the truth.

Warm, loving and no longer cold, I can breathe finally. The world is clear, warm and somber.

I'm not home but somewhere, just somewhere.

It takes a stronger person to love their enemy rather than kill them.

Love those who offer you nothing in return and you will recieve blessings beyond imagine.

You will be known more for how you love, than how you hate.

forget the seed
forget the fruit
forget the leaf
and forget the branch
forget the tree
and forget the root
forget yourself
and forget the others
forget the world
and forget the universe
forget what is
and forget what is not
forget separation
and forget what forgetting is

forge unity out of the depths of your own absence


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

reply to post by AnotherYOU


forgive the short one-liner : i love it

A vision of divine wisdom has made a incision
But my eyes are broken and my ears do not listen
Body bruised and beaten, my brain is sickened
Some how i still manged to stay enlightened
Keep fight-in, like a prisoned dog, I never stop bite-n

Drugs that boost life offer free ways.
Some carry knives, yet lean with no sway.

These things may seem strange to those who are straight,
so they wait and they watch as they hold their own weight!

A single koan is meaningless, only half the story or even less.
Usually a koan must be met with a response by the teacher who presented the student with it,
And then a counter-response. Or more. Sometimes a monk might struggle decades
Or never even find an answer.
Anyway, the point is, it's not in whatever the monk happend to say.
The action was in the dance of response and counter-response. phrase and capping-phrase,
Between teacher and student.

If you think what I've just written above is a complaint rather than a straight answer to the OP,
You have missed the pont entirely.
If you think it *is* a straight answer, you deserve to be smacked upside the head for being so pretentious and artificial.
And if you tell me that it's both ways at once, or neither, or both-and-neither, you are beyond hopless,
And need to log off immediately.

The gift of Living is not wrapped in Life,
Life is wrapped in it's Death,
When light shines upon the Body the Shadow is born,
As with the Right and the Left all must exist with a counter balance,
If the Light begins to dissipate upon the Body,
You must find the way to keep the light shining upon it,
Or it shall surely cease in existence and does It's Shadow.

The gift of Knowledge is not wrapped in Wisdom,
Wisdom is wrapped in it's Understanding.

Originally posted by silent thunder
A single koan is meaningless, only half the story or even less.
Usually a koan must be met with a response by the teacher who presented the student with it,
And then a counter-response. Or more. Sometimes a monk might struggle decades
Or never even find an answer.
Anyway, the point is, it's not in whatever the monk happend to say.
The action was in the dance of response and counter-response. phrase and capping-phrase,
Between teacher and student.

If you think what I've just written above is a complaint rather than a straight answer to the OP,
You have missed the pont entirely.
If you think it *is* a straight answer, you deserve to be smacked upside the head for putting on airs.
If you tell me that it's both ways at once, or neither, or both-and-neither, you are hopless,
And need to log off immediately.

edit on 6/18/11 by silent thunder because: (no reason given)

STOP trying to spoil peoples fun, its childish and stupid.

Originally posted by GaddaffiDuck
STOP trying to spoil peoples fun, its childish and stupid.

[Bows deeply to GaddaffiDuck]

You have passed the barrier. Now what would you like to do?

Originally posted by silent thunder

Originally posted by GaddaffiDuck
STOP trying to spoil peoples fun, its childish and stupid.

[Bows deeply to GaddaffiDuck]

You have passed the barrier. Now what would you like to do?

edit on 6/18/11 by silent thunder because: (no reason given)

/search ground for treasure