Song of Freedom
(Based on the Shodoka, or Cheng-Tao-Ko, by Yongjia)
Here comes Mr. Natural, at
ease as you please, walking the Talk by keeping quiet and letting his feet do
the speaking, not running toward or away, just walking on.
The essence of confusion and
wisdom is identical, this dusty skin bag is Light’s own body!
When we finally see how
things really are, what words can we muster to describe nothing?
We all share the same
original innocence, that’s why the truth is so true.
Thoughts and sensations
change like the weather -- the night sky doesn’t complain when the stars come
out.
When we eventually sober up a
little, concepts like me and mine, self and other, past and future no longer
have the juice to intoxicate us.
Even that’s a tale – really,
nothing happens.
See for yourself! Once we
open our eyes, everything is obvious.
In the dream, there’s plenty
of drama. When we awaken, where does it all go?
Ups and downs, profit and
loss – none of it can touch our immaculate peace.
We’ve all heard about
polishing the mirror, but wait, look directly – there is no mirror. That’s what
I call clean!
Who am I? If I’m truly
neither this nor that, I’m this and that too.
Ask a corpse to explain
itself! How can we find ourselves by searching outside ourselves?
Give up the struggle – relax.
Everything changes. When we
resist, we suffer. What more do you need to know?
Recognizing and understanding
the intimate relationship between what changes and what doesn’t is wisdom;
actualizing it is love.
If you don’t agree, it
doesn’t matter. Life clarifies itself.
Even being in opposition is
not being in opposition. It’s all one thing! No, not even that! It’s easy,
don’t worry!
We’re lived by mystery, empty
and marvelous – don’t try to figure out perfection with mind, just rest in it,
in harmony, surrendered, released of any complication.
Beyond fear and desire, just
be.
Just BE.
The wise don’t linger in
concepts, regrets, plans, or frowns.
In this way, they’re like
children – clinging to nothing, rejecting nothing.
Since there is no other, they
go on their way, unnoticed. Since everyone is inherently free, they’re
inconspicuous in their absence.
Truth is simple and open to
all. Those who understand may not be rich, but they’re happy.
What better gift to share
than one’s own original beauty?
To earnest seekers, all
self-images are like tattered old costumes that never quite fit. They
appreciate the naked freedom of their own unself-conscious nature – they’ve got
nothing to prove.
People say all sorts of
things, but what’s prior to the first word? Let them say what they will – the
extent of any reactivity is a good test of true equanimity.
To become a natural human
being, don’t linger in any provisional state or get bogged down in beliefs.
This is actually the way of
things – fluid, dynamic, non-dwelling.
Most get frightened when they
contemplate their own impermanence, but a rare one now and then wakes up
laughing in the midst of the dream.
Walking, sitting, speaking,
silent – it’s all the same. Let the Wheel spin. When raining, rain, when
shining, shine.
I don’t mind.
When the arrow hit home,
there was nobody there – not even a forwarding address.
What care I for fame or
disgrace – the arrow does the work.
In the grace of supreme
beauty, radiance, I discovered my own.
It is not mine, this love is
for everyone. All revolve in perfection within me. There is no coming or going,
all are already home.
No need for a pat on the
back, who’s patting whom?
“Who knew it would be like
this?”
What more can one say?
The moon still shines, the
wind still blows – this light belongs to no one.
I am flowing water, following
a course carved out by the Great One. I do not seek the truth – the truth moves
me.
Neither empty nor full, my
form is the form of the Real.
W
hen I drop this form,
nothing has changed. What has no beginning has no end.
Clarity – all is limitless
light, mirrored in spotless mind.
Listen closely, Holy Friends
– clinging to anything is taking false refuge. Running away amounts to the
same.
Non-dwelling is living
without limits, without borders, without chains. Grasping at any experience,
concept, strategy, or identity is nothing but an amnesiac’s fantasy games.
Some long for the marriage of
heaven and earth, yet who has the peace of mind to contemplate the mutual
penetration of the known and the unknown within the sphere of ordinary
activity?
Natural and spontaneous, it
proceeds without delay or impediment, granting the universe the power to exist.
Past, present, and future are included in one glance, all emerges from one
mysterious gesture, thrives, dissolves –
ecstasy!
What says, "I
am"? It's not mind, a teaching, or
a word – right here, before the tongue moves!
No praise, no blame,
eternally serene. No way to it, no way out of it. The only stubborn obstacle -- our
pretense of self.
The only recourse:
understanding and discarding that fiction.
See through that one, and all
is understood. The one and the all are not different – only appearances blind
us to what’s what.
Just keep walking – if anyone
asks directions, point to the heart. Yours and theirs are not two. Looking
elsewhere, it’s completely missed.
I hail from a long line of
jugglers who toss batons of existence and non-existence in a teeming carnival
of ineffable light.
Don't ask me what I know – I
just work here. When I jettison everything I think I know, I just might become
honest and genuine.
The Real is direct and
immediate – that's why it's so easily missed. Still, why complain? That only
compounds the befuddlement. Just be grateful -- without reason. Gratitude
itself is reason enough!
Nothing is as it appears.
Whatever appears, I am not. Nor am I any different.
If this is not comprehended,
the dream goes on. If this is comprehended, the dream still goes on. Let's be
clear – the dream never ends, only the dreamer disappears.
For years I tried to figure
it out, with efforts mounted against the wind. Finally, I gave up the struggle.
Now the breeze blows through me.
I relaxed and just let go.
A closed fist opened.
Spirit breathed out.
This breath is for all.
