Quotes About Nature

We are white dew drops; If we lay ourselves just as we are On the maple leaves, We are red beads.

think that what Master Hakuin means by his words "beyond dualism" is that it is not only we, who transcend such playful dualism, but also all other things in their own no self-nature that are in operation according to their selfless essence.

Our body then is no longer a mere physical body but the body of Buddha and the True Body of the individual. It embodies and concretely expresses the spiritual nature and inexhaustible wisdom of various Buddhas. It is as if the body is the whole universe.

The original cause of all our actions is stored in the eighth consciousness which is called Alaya-vijnana, but the seed of that original cause is by nature neither good nor bad. It is indeed deemed to be the operation of the seventh consciousness called Mana-vijnana that tinges the originally pure Alaya-vijnana with evil by involving it in the life of egocentric desires and passions.

This teaching of O Yomei reminds me of "Kyosho Dofu (Ching-ch'ing Tao-fu) and the voice of rain drops" as told in Article 46 of the Hekigan Roku (Pi-yen Lu).

The flowers withered,Their color faded away,While meaninglesslyI spent my days in the worldAnd the long rains were falling.

What is it about this twilight hour? Even the sound of a barely perceptible breeze pierces the heart.

The color of the flower has faded, while I lost myself in idle thought in this long rain / ???? ??????? ????? ??????? ???????

However wildly this year's cherry blossoms bloom, I'll see them with the plum's scent filling my heart.

This pine tree by the rock Must have its memories too: After a thousand years, See how its branches Lean towards the ground.

Undisturbed, my garden fills with summer growth— how I wish for one who would push the deep grass aside.

Seeing the moonlight Spilling down Through these trees, My heart fills to the brim With autumn.

I've traveled That dark path to the world Which comes down from this mountain Just to see you One last time.

The cherry blossoms have faded now in hue - gazing emptily upon the long spring rains, I too know what it is to age.

O Spider Lily That grows on the mountain Called Waiting, Is there someone you also Promised to meet this autumn?

The flowers and my love, Passed away under the rain, While I idly looked upon them: Where is my yester-love?

Through the years I've become used to sorrow: There was not one spring I didn't leave behind The flowers.

Although there is not one moment without longing, still, how strange this autumn twilight is. — Ono no Komachi, The Ink Dark Moon tr. by Jane Hirshfield with Mariko Aratani (Vintage Classics, 1990)

When I grow up, I am going to write for children — and grownups that haven't grown up too much — all the earth-songs I now do hear.

He is a most strong man. He put his arms around the penseé girl and he most lifted her off the ground. He did take out a ring of gold and he did tell her it was his mother's wedding ring. A butterfly went by - it was a cream one with a nice ribbon at its wing edge and pinkish spots. He did kiss her again. They didn't see the green caterpillar having sleeps under the hazel leaf. And he did say, "I want you to have all the love in the world." And he kissed her again.

Between the ranch-house and the house we live in is the singing creek where the willows grow. We have conversations. And there I do dabble my toes beside the willows. I feel the feels of gladness they do feel.

By the wood-shed is a brook. It goes singing on. Its joy-song does sing in my heart.

In our perception all life is equal, and that includes the birds, animals, things that grow, things that swim. All life is equal in our perception.

What if the task is simply to unfold, to become who you already are in your essential nature—gentle, compassionate, and capable of living fully and passionately present? How would this affect how you feel when you wake up in the morning?