Tomorrow…

is Buddha’s birthday. I’ve never really thought about it before, but I suppose it makes sense. Jesus has a birthday. Muhammad has a birthday. Sure. Why not? This is not something that is generally celebrated too often in the Western world, but it is a national holiday in Korea, and, I’ve heard somebody say something sometime about being Rome and… well, I forget the rest of how it goes.
At any rate, tomorrow I am going to celebrate Buddha’s birthday. I’m going to do this in what is probably an inappropriate manner—having had very little experience with what a celebration of this kind would entail, but I will spend the day in meditation, introspection, and fasting. Traditionally in Korea, a visit is made to the nearest temple—or whatever temple you choose—and the monks there provide the visitors with food (usually gimbap—sort of like a California roll: seaweed, rice, and whatever is around all rolled up), and everybody attempts to understand themselves a little bit better.

So, instead of gabbing on here about whatever it is I think about whatever it is that’s going on in the world of my mind these days, I’m simply going to leave you with some thoughts to make your “Buddha’s Birthday Bash” a beautiful one:

“To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent.”
--Buddha

“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned.”
--Buddha

“On life's journey Faith is nourishment,
Virtuous deeds are a shelter,
Wisdom is the light by day and Right mindfulness is the protection by night.
If a man lives a pure life nothing can destroy him;
If he has conquered greed nothing can limit his freedom.”
--Buddha

“When the student is ready, the master appears.”
Buddhist Proverb

“Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes. ”
Alan Watts

“Zen is not a philosophy, it is poetry. It does not propose, it simply persuades. It does not argue, it simply sings its own song. ”
Osho

“Sit quietly doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself. ”
Zen Wisdom

“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both. ”
Zen Wisdom

“To what shall I liken the world? Moonlight, reflected in dewdrops. Shaken from a crane's bill. ”
Dogen

“May all living beings,
All of my neighbors,
Be happy,
Be at peace,
Be comfortable.”
--Beop Jeong, Seon Master

“This spring, I am going to set off on the road again.
I have been staying here about as long as I am meant to,
so now I think it is time to find a new place to reside.
When ascetics stay in one place for a long time,
they begin to languish, stuck in a mire of sloth and inertia.
I want to embark on a new path, like an eternal beginner,
clumsily starting all over again from the beginning.”
--Beop Jeong, Seon Master

Right This Moment
“Do not let this moment escape.
Pay close attention, every second, with the thought,
"Now, I am living in this way."
Do not be distracted, do not think useless thoughts,
do not get lost in the words of others, but rather inspect things for yourself.
In the same way, do not get bound to my words here.
Go on your own path!
Do not spend this moment in vain.
These moments pile up and become an entire life.
Do not be to tense.
If you are, you lose your resiliency,
and then it is difficult to maintain consistency.
You have to be joyful in the living of life.
Everyday begin again.
Again and again, wipe yourself off and rise up from this tired old quagmire.”
--Beop Jeong, Seon Master