Essay 152

Foolish am I

This foolish self who is not even aware of his own foolishness

Extinguishing wisdom and foolishness

The Great Peace

“Delusion is the nature of ordinary beings. Apart from delusion, there is no mind in us.” These are the Dharma-words of Master Genshin. These Dharma-words are very honourable words. If you can savour this sentence, your state of mind will turn as clear as a cloudless sky. To savour the real taste of Buddha-Dharma, it would be excellent if you could keep this sentence in your thoughts and chew on it. “Apart from delusion, there is no mind in us.” Well, even the people who listen to Buddha-Dharma for 30 to 40 years and more may not be able to savour its taste! If you realize this, you will come to know that the mind hoping to acquire shinjin (Faith) is still delusionary; the mind thinking that it has acquired shinjin is still delusionary! Delusion is “calculation,” based on this sentence you will realize that the “calculation” of bombu is deeply-rooted!

This man (me) who has been constantly “calculating” since eons past, is the master that possesses the delusionary mind only; this kind of person is saved just as he is. If this is not due to the inconceivable Buddha-wisdom, then to what else? Trust in the inconceivable Buddha-wisdom is the shinjin that is inconceivable; it is likened to the lotus blooming in the mud, to the fully flowering lotus in the fire. This is the inconceivability of the Vow-Power.

Zuiken Sama