Good day!

The master said: "I do not ask you about fifteen days ago. But what about fifteen days hence? Come, say a word about this!" Since none of those present answered, he answered for them: "Every day is a good day."




"Every day is a good day" is a
simple statement, but very
few know its real meaning.
The "good day" does not refer
to a nice day as compared to a
bad day.

It means the absolute, not the relative,
day. Today is the absolute day, the
only day in the eternity of
time. Today is never repeated.

Every day is fresh and new just
as one's life is new each day.
Every day is a good day, but
the good is not of one's good
own making.

It is good in the original, or
absolute, sense— rain or shine,
war or peace, sickness or health.

The past is only reference;
the future hope.

Today is real.

Dogo paid a visit to his sick fellow monk, Ungan.

"Where can I see you again if you die and leave only your corpse?", Dogo asked.

"I will meet you where nothing is born and nothing dies," Ungan replied.

Dogo criticized his response saying, "What you should have said is that there is
no place where nothing is born and nothing dies and that we need not see each
other at all."


Some people eat together, sleep together,
but never really meet. Did Dogo and Ungan
really meet? There are many living corpses
moving around.

The true meeting in life is the meeting of life.
Unless one has true understanding, one hears
without really hearing, sees without really seeing.

If Dogo and Ungan were really such sophisticated
mondos (questions-and-answers) would be
unnecessary. Just clasping each others
hand would be more than enough.

The old plum tree is
in full bloom;
The southern branch owns
the whole spring-
So does the northern
branch.

One evening a thief crept into Ryokan's mountain
hut. There was nothing to steal. Ryokan returned
and caught him.

"You have come a long way to visit me," he told
the prowler, "and you should not return empty-handed.
Please take my clothes as a gift."

The bewildered thief took the clothes and slunk away.
Ryokan sat naked watching the moon and said, "Poor
fellow. I wish I could give him this beautiful moon."



Ryokan is very famous in Japan. He was a Zen monk
and poet known for his reverence for life, utter
simplicity, kindness, and lack of attachment to
material things and affairs.

He was also beloved of children. For Ryokan there
was no thief, no ugliness, no anger. According to
a story, a bamboo shoot started to grow under
floor of his hut. He made a hole in the floor to
accommodate the shoot.

When it reached the ceiling, he made another hole.

One day a fellow was walking through a market. He overheard a customer say to the butcher, "Give me the best piece of meat you have."

"Everything in my shop is the best", replied the butcher. "You can not find any piece of meat that is not the best".



There is only absolute value, not relative
values. The rose is best as a rose. The lily
is best as a lily. Each individual is the
best in the whole world. The only
obligation one has in life is to
bring out one's best.

A philosopher asked Buddha: "Without words, without silence, will you tell me the truth?"

The Buddha sat quietly.

The philosopher then bowed and thanked the Buddha, saying, "With your loving kindness I have cleared away my delusions and entered the true path."

After the philosopher had gone, Ananda asked Buddha what the philosopher had attained. The Buddha commented, "A good horse runs even at the shadow of the whip."




Buddha's silence was dynamic. The philosopher
was quick to understand and thanked him. But
Ananda did not understand. Truth is beyond words.
Life is only understood by life.

A monk asked, "How can I live alone at the top of the mountain?"
Another monk answered, "Why do you give up your being in the valley and climb the mountain?"

This koan is appropriate both for monks and modern people. How would it be if I isolated myself? There would be no one to bother me; everything would be quiet and serene. Many people wish to escape. The monk answered, in effect, that the problem is the restless mind, relative thinking. The very way of being in the valley is the top of the mountain.

Many think that heaven or happiness is elsewhere. Many think that learning Zen or self-discipline is the way to a life different from the one they are now living. But to become good is not to take away the bad. Actually, the bad turns into good. Hardship and difficulties are the source of real appreciation in life. The more ice there is , the more water. The more trouble, the greater the appreciation for life. But people still think that place or situation is the cause of trouble. If one carries the same mind and attitude, wherever one goes, there also go the troubles.