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Wednesday, February 10, 2010

ZEN State of Spirit




    The Shōbōgenzō was created by the great Zen priest Dōgen in 1200-1253.
    This prose is written by Hiragana and Kanzi letter, Regular script.


    The essence of the Zen.
    It is shown Shōbōgenzō.



正  法  眼  蔵
Shō bō gen zō

身心脱落 只管打坐
Come to naught a body and a heart, and merely sit down earnestly.


仏道をならふといふは 自己をならふ也
A meaning to learn a way of Hotoke is to learn myself.

自己をならふといふは 自己を忘るる也
A meaning to learn myself is to forget myself.

自己を忘るるといふは 万法に証せらるる也
A meaning to forget myself is to obey providence of the Nature.

万法に証せらるるといふは 自己の身心および他己の身心をして脱落せしむるなり
A meaning to obey providence of the Nature is to make mind and body of my own, and mind and body of another person emptiness.


この心あながちに切なるもの とげずといふことなきなり
If own heart desires it earnestly toward the aim, you will accomplish any kind of thing.



The last sentence encourages me.
The self-knowledge is the most difficult theme.
It is forever.



   しかもかくのごとくなりといへども、花は愛惜にちり、草は棄嫌におふるのみなり

   Various phenomena and events may occur in this world.
   However, the flower will be scattered while mourn its leave. Even if the weed is disliked, it's grow thick still more.
   The human being is often at a loss, but the Nature will plainly change regardless of them.

8 comments:

  1. Thank you for taking the time to present this. Interesting. I'm analyzing..(smile)

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  2. Hi i am new here. YOur posts are very informative and the photos are great. Thank you. For warmer thoughts and sceneries i am inviting you to visit my site, while you are embedded yet with lots of ice around.

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  3. Oh what a truth these words tell. And how beautiful the letters are!

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  4. A very inspirative place! Wonderful pictures and interesting descriptions - I think I understand more and more from the "Old spirit" of Japan Ruma. Thank you!

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  5. I am so sorry I can't read it in the original language...

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  6. Ruma,
    Eu bebi todas suas palavras :)
    Vou tentar não esquecer a ultima frase:)Obrigado

    Espaço lindo e tranquilo.

    Saudações Amiga Ruma.

    Linda.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Okay I like those elements of calligraphy thanks for posting it.


    Laby[mens dress shirts]

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  8. Hello, Ruma!

    [**Sorry my email was illegible! I'm not sure what happened!**]

    My name is Brenden Farrell. I live in Buffalo, New York in the US.

    Let me first tell you how beautiful your calligraphy is. I found your blog last night and spent hours looking at every single one. They are amazing and you are very talented!

    My favorite was your “ZEN State of Spirit”. The Shōbōgenzō is truly amazing. Since I am American, I must rely on English translations, but the true beauty is in the calligraphy. It takes my breath away.

    I am searching all over for the beginning part of the Shōbōgenzō, the GenjoKoan, the quote that says:

    “A flower falls even though we love it; a weed grows even though we do not love it”

    I have seen other English translations that look like:

    “Yet in attachment blossoms fall, and in aversion weeds spread.”

    Or

    “flowers fall while we treasure their bloom; weeds flourish while we wish them dead.”

    But what I have been searching for so long for is the original words/language that Dōgen used.

    I first read the quote in 2007 and it brought tears to my eyes; it has a deep personal significance for me.

    It’s so hard for me to find since I cannot read Japanese, but I have tried for days and days using English to Japanese translators. But I have not found them.

    Those words are very important to me, and I want to see them every day.

    I do not know anyone who knows Japanese, or anyone who is familiar with Dōgen. But you seem to have a mastery of Japanese (obviously!) and you seem to have a deep appreciation for Dōgen. Do you think you could type the quote in Japanese characters like Dōgen wrote in Shōbōgenzō/ Part 1 of GenjoKoan for me? Just type it and email it back to me, just so I could see the original words?

    I wish I could pay you to make a beautiful calligraphy for your site, but I am just a poor college student!

    Could you help me? I'm sorry to ask you as a stranger but I can't describe how important those words are to me. They give me a profound peace in my soul... it is hard to describe.

    I understand if you cannot, I’m sure you are a very busy person. So please do not worry if you can't. I understand completely.

    Thank you again for your beautiful work,


    Brenden Farrell

    ReplyDelete

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