From this month’s first Zen maxim in Japanese site of Rinzai-Obaku Zen.
Even when only a broken bridge remains, it grants the strength to cross the water; even in darkness without moonlight, it reveals the path home to the village.
In an age where personal freedom and individual rights are loudly asserted, the atmosphere has begun to shift.
We now hear whispers of “excessive freedom” and “overextended rights,” spoken as if they were undeniable truths.
Yet this may be what is called an escape from freedom. When nothing is imposed upon us, we must discover for ourselves the means and direction in which to proceed. Are we becoming fearful of that responsibility?
Ahakoa he piriti pakaru anake kei reira, ahakoa te pō kāore he marama
Hei tā te kōrero tuatahi o te marama i te wāhanga Hapani o te Rinzai-Obaku Zen.
Ahakoa he piriti pakaru anake kei reira, ka hoatu tonu te kaha ki te whakawhiti i te wai; ahakoa te pō kāore he marama, ka whakaatu tonu i te ara hoki ki te kāinga.
Kua roa te ao e kōrero nui ana mō te herekore me ngā motika o te tangata, engari ināianei kua tīmata te āhua o te rangi ki te rerekē.
Kei te rangona ngā kōrero mō te “herekore nui rawa” me ngā “motika whānui rawa,” ā, ka rangona pēnei he kōrero pono. Heoi, tērā pea he momo rerenga tēnei i te herekore.
Ina kore he whakahau, me kimi ake tātou i ngā ara me ngā tikanga e tika ana mā tātou. Kei te mataku rānei tātou i taua kawenga?
Kia tū te kaha tūturu i te puku, kāore e whakapehapeha
Hei tā te kōrero tuarua o te marama i te wāhanga Hapani o te Rinzai-Obaku Zen.
Ko te kōrero Zen “Lǐn lǐn gū fēng bù zì kuā, duān jū huán hǎi dìng lóng shé” e ako ana kia tū te kaha tūturu i te puku, kāore e whakapehapeha.
Ahakoa te ao nui e huri ana, mā te noho marino ka tau te rangimārie.
I roto i te ao pāpāho pāpori e rere ana te pono me te rūpahu, me hoki whakamuri i te whakataetae mō te aro. Whakamāhia ō karu me ō taringa kia mōhio ai koe ki te mea tika.
Ko te māramatanga kei te whakarerea o te whakapehapeha, te mārama o tō kaupapa, me te noho pūmau ki tō ake wāhi.
Pērā i te tarakona e tiaki ana i te wai — he puku, he ū, he tau — ko tō marino anake te kaha pono.
From this month’s first Zen maxim in Japanese site of Rinzai-Obaku Zen.
The Zen phrase “Huangsha baizhan jinjia chuan, bu po Loulan zhong bu huan” comes from a Tang‑dynasty poem.
It speaks of a warrior who, even after a hundred battles in the yellow sands and armour pierced by arrows, refuses to return home until the mission is fulfilled.
It is a declaration of unwavering resolve — a vow not to retreat before reaching the true goal.
Dispelling delusion is much like debugging a program. No matter how precisely we write, flaws inevitably hide within. And it is never easy to admit that the strange behavior was caused by our own code.
To uncover and correct a bug in a complex system, we need the same fierce determination as the warrior who will not turn back until Loulan is broken.
So it is with life: only by confronting our own missteps with persistence do we move toward clarity beyond confusion.
Kua whawhai i ngā pakanga rau i te one kōwhai, kua werohia tōna patu koura
Hei tā te kōrero tuatahi o te marama i te wāhanga Hapani o te Rinzai-Obaku Zen.
Ko te kōrero Zen “Huangsha baizhan jinjia chuan, bu po Loulan zhong bu huan” e kōrero ana mō te toa kua whawhai i ngā pakanga rau i te one kōwhai, kua werohia tōna patu koura, engari kāore ia e hoki ki te kāinga kia tutuki rā anō te whāinga.
He kupu mō te ūmanga kore e whakangāwari — he oati kia kaua e hoki whakamuri.
He rite te whakakore i te pōuri ki te whakatikatika hōtaka.
Ahakoa te tika o te tuhituhi, ka noho puku tonu ngā hapa. He uaua te whakaae nā tātou ake i puta ai ngā mahi rerekē. Hei kimi, hei whakatika i ngā hapa o tētahi pūnaha matatini, me whai i te manawanui o te toa e kore e hoki kia pakaru rā anō a Loulan.
Waihoki i te ao: mā te ū ki te whakatika i ā tātou hē, ka anga whakamua ki te māramatanga i tua atu i te rangirua.
From this month’s second Zen maxim in Japanese site of Rinzai-Obaku Zen.
Many people feel unable to act freely because they worry about how they appear to others. Yet what is this “public opinion” we fear. It seems to have a will or personality of its own, as if it were a single person giving us orders. But in truth, such a will does not exist.
There is a Zen phrase: “Heaven says nothing, yet the seasons turn and all things are born.”
The world moves without commentary, without judgment, without a voice telling us what to do. Just as the sky remains silent while life unfolds, the “voice of society” is only something our minds create. When we stop listening to that imagined voice, we can finally return to our own natural rhythm.
Kāore te rangi e kōrero, engari ka huri tonu ngā kaupeka, ka tupu tonu ngā mea katoa
Hei tā te kōrero tuarua o te marama i te wāhanga Hapani o te Rinzai-Obaku Zen.
He tokomaha ka taupatupatu i roto i a rātou anō nā te māharahara ki ngā whakaaro o te ao. Engari, he aha rā tēnei mea ka kīia ko te “whakaaro o te iwi”. He rite ki tētahi tangata kotahi e whakahau ana i a tātou, ahakoa kāore he tino tangata pēnei e tū ana.
He kōrero Zen e mea ana: “Kāore te rangi e kōrero, engari ka huri tonu ngā kaupeka, ka tupu tonu ngā mea katoa.”
Ka neke te ao me te kore kōrero, me te kore whakatau, me te kore reo e tohu ana i te ara tika. Pērā i te rangi puku e tuku ana kia rere noa te ao, he mea hanga noa iho te “reo o te ao” e tō tātou hinengaro. Ina waiho taua reo rūpahu, ka hoki anō tātou ki tō tātou ake kaupeka māori.
From this month’s first Zen maxim in Japanese site of Rinzai-Obaku Zen.
Cold when it is cold, warm when it is warm — the Zen phrase “When cold, be thoroughly cold; when hot, be thoroughly hot” teaches us to stop resisting and to entrust ourselves to each moment as it is.
In the age of social media, anyone can send their thoughts out into the vast world.
Yet sometimes the words we share with confidence reach no one at all, while a casual remark can spark an unexpected blaze.
The “cold” and “heat” of reactions arrive regardless of our intentions. As the old sayings go, fair winds come to those who wait, and rumors fade with time.
And so, when it is cold, we stand in the cold; when it is hot, we stand in the heat. Perhaps simply remaining natural and unforced is the wisest way to live.
Ina mātao, kia tino mātao; ina wera, kia tino wera
Hei tā te kōrero tuatahi o te marama i te wāhanga Hapani o te Rinzai-Obaku Zen.
Mātao ana te wā he mātao, wera ana te wā he wera — e ako ana te kōrero Zen “Ina mātao, kia tino mātao; ina wera, kia tino wera” kia kaua e whakahē i te āhuatanga, engari kia tukua te wairua kia noho ki taua wā tonu.
I tēnei ao pāpāho pāpori, ka taea e te tangata te tuku whakaaro ki te ao whānui. Heoi anō, i ētahi wā kāore he urupare ki ngā kupu i whakapono nui ai tātou, ā, i ētahi atu wā ka mura te ahi i tētahi kōrero māmā noa.
Ka tae mai te “mātao” me te “wera” o ngā urupare, ahakoa ō tātou whakaaro. E ai ki ngā kōrero tuku iho, ka pai te hau mō te hunga manawanui, ā, ka memeha haere ngā kōrero i te wā.
Nō reira, ina mātao, me tū ki te mātao; ina wera, me tū ki te wera. Tērā pea ko te noho māori noa te ara pai rawa atu mō te tangata.
From this month’s second Zen maxim in Japanese site of Rinzai-Obaku Zen.
When we are young, we tend to speak of our achievements, our ideas, and what we believe to be right.
Yet before speaking of a life whose conclusion has not yet been written, perhaps we might quietly turn our eyes toward the footsteps of those who came before us.
In doing so, we may come to realise that we are not trees growing alone, but stand upon the countless fallen blossoms and fruits that came before us.
Ahakoa ka wareware katoa te ako a te Dharma, e tū mokemoke ana au i te māra mārie, e tatau ana i ngā pua paramu e taka ana
Hei tā te kōrero tuarua o te marama i te wāhanga Hapani o te Rinzai-Obaku Zen.
I a tātou e rangatahi ana, he hiahia nō tātou ki te kōrero mō ā tātou whakatutukitanga, ā tātou whakaaro, me ngā mea e whakapono ana tātou he tika.
Engari i mua i te kōrero mō tō tātou ake oranga kāore anō kia oti te tuhi, tērā pea me tahuri puku atu ki ngā tapuwae o te hunga kua haere i mua i a tātou.
Nā reira ka mōhio tātou, ehara tātou i te rākau e tupu mokemoke ana, engari e tū ana i muri i ngā puāwai kua taka me ngā hua kua puta i mua i a tātou.
From this month’s first Zen maxim in Japanese site of Rinzai-Obaku Zen.
On social media, people raise their own banners and speak of the times through various signs and omens. But is it truly the world that is moving? Or is it our own minds that perceive movement in it?
Kāore te hau e neke, kāore te haki e neke, ko te ngākau e neke ana
Hei tā te kōrero tuatahi o te marama i te wāhanga Hapani o te Rinzai-Obaku Zen.
I runga i ngā pae pāpāho pāpori, ka hiki ngā tāngata i ā rātou ake haki, ā, ka kōrero mō te ao i runga i ngā tohu maha. Engari, ko te ao rānei e nekeneke ana? Kāore rānei, ko ō tātou ake ngākau e kite ana i taua nekenekehanga?
From this month’s first Zen maxim in Japanese site of Rinzai-Obaku Zen.
Taro Okamoto once said, “The wall is oneself.”
Once one resolves to break through that inner wall and truly steps beyond it, one can no longer return to a way of seeing the self that builds such walls again.
Whakatūria te ngākau, wehe atu i te kāinga—ki te kore e tutuki, kaua e hoki.
Hei tā te kōrero tuatahi o te marama i te wāhanga Hapani o te Rinzai-Obaku Zen.
I kī a Tarō Okamoto, “Ko te pakitara, ko koe anō.”
Ka whakatau te tangata ki te wawahi i taua pakitara o roto, ā, ka takahi ki tua, kāore ia e hoki anō ki te hanga i aua pakitara i roto i tōna mōhiotanga ki a ia anō.