Winds scatter the clouds; the blue sky reveals the moon above the mountains

From this month’s second Zen maxim in Japanese site of Rinzai-Obaku Zen.

The human heart is often veiled by delusion and desire, like clouds in the sky. Yet when it meets the wind of impermanence and truth, those clouds swiftly vanish, and the vast, original mind is revealed. Into that clarity, the true light will surely shine.

風吹碧落浮雲尽　月上青山玉一団 (かぜへきらくをふいてふうんつき　つきせいざんにのぼるぎょくいちだん)

臨黄ネットの今月のふたつ目の禅語から。

人は煩悩や妄想に雲のように心を覆われまずが、風（無常・道理）に触れれば、それらはすぐに消え失せ、もともとの広やかな心が現れるのです。そこには真実の光も差すことでしょう。

Ka pupuhi te hau, ka marara ngā kapua; ka kitea te rangi kikorangi, me te marama i runga i ngā maunga

Hei tā te kōrero tuarua o te marama i te wāhanga Hapani o te Rinzai-Obaku Zen.

Ka tau ngā kapua o te pōrangi me te hiahia ki runga i te ngākau tangata. Engari ka pā ki te hau o te koretake me te pono, ka memeha wawe aua kapua, ka kitea te māramatanga taketake, whānui tonu. Ka tiaho mai anō te māramatanga tūturu ki reira.

Pure breeze clears bright moon, bright moon clears pure breeze

From this month’s first Zen maxim in Japanese site of Rinzai-Obaku Zen.

Here, the bright moon is taken as the understanding of truth,
and the pure breeze as the practice of truth.
Like a breeze clearing the shadows of the moon,
practice reveals what remains obscure in understanding.
And like the moon guiding the breeze,
understanding illuminates what is lacking in practice.
Thus, when moon and breeze resonate together,
understanding and practice form a living cycle,
opening the way toward deeper truth.

清風払明月　明月払清風 (せいふうめいげつをはらい　めいげつせいふうをはらう)

臨黄ネットの今月の最初の禅語から。

ここでは、明月を真理の理解、清風を真理の実践と解いてみます。
清風のごとき実践は、明月を照らすように理解の翳りを払い、
明月のごとき理解は、清風を導くように実践の至らぬところに気づかせます。
かくして月と風が響き合うように、理解と実践が循環するとき、より深き真理への道が開かれるのです。

Ka hau mā ka mā te marama, ka marama ka mā te hau mā

Hei tā te kōrero tuatahi o te marama i te wāhanga Hapani o te Rinzai-Obaku Zen.

Ko te marama kanapa hei tohu mō te mārama ki te pono,
ā, ko te hau mā hei tohu mō te whai i te pono.
Pērā i te hau e whakakāhore ana i ngā atarangi o te marama,
ka whakaatu te mahi i ngā wāhi pōuri o te mārama.
Ā, pērā i te marama e ārahi ana i te hau,
ka whakamarama te mārama i ngā hapa o te mahi.
Ina hono tahi te marama me te hau,
ka huri porohita te mārama me te mahi,
ā, ka puare te ara ki te pono hōhonu ake.

The water flows, carrying the bright moon

From this month’s second Zen maxim in Japanese site of Rinzai-Obaku Zen.

Even within the flow of all that changes, unchanging truth is ever reflected.

水和明月流 (みずはめいげつにわしてながる)

臨黄ネットの今月のふたつ目の禅語から。

移ろうものの流れにも、変わらぬ真理は映し出され続けているのです。

Ka rere te wai, me te marama kanapa e whai haere ana

Hei tā te kōrero tuarua o te marama i te wāhanga Hapani o te Rinzai-Obaku Zen.

Ahakoa te rere o ngā mea katoa e panoni ana, ka kitea tonutia te pono e kore e rerekē.

Just sit quietly, like spring watching grass grow

From this month’s first Zen maxim in Japanese site of Rinzai-Obaku Zen.

Zazen is not to change the world, but to clear one’s own mind. The world, nonetheless, sees the grass sprout when spring arrives.

兀然無事坐　春来草自生 (こつねんとしてぶじにしてざすれば　はるきたってくさおのずからしょうず)

臨黄ネットの今月の最初の禅語から。

坐禅は世界を変えるためではなく、自らの心を澄ますためにあります。世界はもとより春になれば草が芽吹くのですから。

E noho mārire ana, kāore he āwangawanga; ka tae mai te kōanga, ka tupu noa te tarutaru

Hei tā te kōrero tuatahi o te marama i te wāhanga Hapani o te Rinzai-Obaku Zen.

Ehara te zazen i te whakarerekē i te ao, engari hei whakamāroki i tō hinengaro. Ahakoa rā, ka puāwai tonu te tarutaru i te taenga mai o te kōanga.

The upright bamboo does not suffer the summer heat

From this month’s second Zen maxim in Japanese site of Rinzai-Obaku Zen.

Bamboo remains lush and cool even in the heat of summer. In fact, it is a plant native to warm climates and is naturally resilient to the summer sun.

People tend to blame their situation, thinking there’s nothing they can do. But perhaps it’s not the situation that’s limiting us—perhaps it’s our own narrow perspective.

脩竹不受暑 (しゅうちくしょをうけず)

臨黄ネットの今月のふたつ目の禅語から。

青々と茂り、夏でも涼しげに見える竹。実際には、竹はもともと暑い地域の植物で、夏の暑さにも強く耐えられる性質を持っています。

人はつい、状況や環境のせいにして「どうしようもない」と思いがちです。けれど、実はそう思い込んでいるのは、自分自身の狭い了見によるものかもしれません。

Kāore te tūpapa kārere i te pāwera i te wera

Hei tā te kōrero tuarua o te marama i te wāhanga Hapani o te Rinzai-Obaku Zen.

Ka noho mātao tonu te tāwhara ahakoa te wera o te raumati. Nō ngā wāhi wera te tipu nei, ā, he manawanui ki te rāumati.

He maha ngā wā ka whakapae te tangata i te taiao, ka mea hoki kāore he huarahi kē atu. Engari, tērā pea ehara i te taiao te raru, engari ko tō tātou ake tirohanga kōpaki.

The peach and the plum say nothing, yet a path forms beneath them

From this month’s first Zen maxim in Japanese site of Rinzai-Obaku Zen.

The law of cause and effect is often understood as a formula for consequences of human actions.
But what if we saw human action instead as something small—subordinate to the vast, spontaneous workings of nature?

桃李不言下自成蹊 (とうりものいわざれども、したおのずからけいをなす)

臨黄ネットの今月の最初の禅語から。

因果の法は人間の所為に関するものとして捉えられがちですが、むしろ人間の所為の自然の営みに比しての矮小さとして理解してみてはどうでしょう。

Kāore te pēhi me te pāmu e kōrero, heoi anō ka puta he ara i raro i a rāua

Hei tā te kōrero tuatahi o te marama i te wāhanga Hapani o te Rinzai-Obaku Zen.

He maha te tangata e whakaaro ana ko te ture o te take me te hua, he ture hei whakamārama i ngā putanga o ngā mahi a te tangata.
Engari, mehemea ka mātakitaki kētia ngā mahi a te tangata hei mea nohinohi noa iho—kei raro i ngā nekeneke māori o te taiao, e rere noa ana, e whanake noa ana?

Above, vastness without end. Below, vastness without end.

From this month’s second Zen maxim in Japanese site of Rinzai-Obaku Zen.

Only by becoming one with the breath of life that fills both heaven and earth can we truly understand the meaning of “Among heaven and earth, I alone am honoured.”

頭上漫々脚下漫々 (ずじょうまんまん、きゃっかまんまん)

臨黄ネットの今月のふたつ目の禅語から。

天上天下唯我独尊とは、天にも地にも満ちる生命の息吹に自らを同化してこそ。

Runga, he whānui mutunga kore. Raro, he whānui mutunga kore.

Hei tā te kōrero tuarua o te marama i te wāhanga Hapani o te Rinzai-Obaku Zen.

Mā te hono atu ki te manawa o te ora e kī ana i te rangi me te whenua, ka mārama tātou ki te tikanga o te kōrero: “I waenganui i te rangi me te whenua, ko au anake te mea whakahirahira.”

No birds in the trees, blossoms fallen on moss

From this month’s first Zen maxim in Japanese site of Rinzai-Obaku Zen.

Though no one visits, speaks, or praises, the tree still stands.
The flower falls in silence, the moss receives it—quiet, wordless, and beautiful.

門前緑樹無啼鳥　庭下蒼苔有落花 (もんぜんのりょくじゅていちょうなく　ていかのそうたいらっかあり)

臨黄ネットの今月の最初の禅語から。

誰も訪れず、語らず、称えずとも、木はそこにある。花は静かに落ち、苔はそれを受けとめ、何も言わず美しい。

Kāore he manu i ngā rākau, kua taka ngā puāwai ki te pūkohu

Hei tā te kōrero tuatahi o te marama i te wāhanga Hapani o te Rinzai-Obaku Zen.

Ahakoa kāore he tangata e toro atu, e kōrero, e whakamoemiti, e tū tonu ana te rākau. Ka taka marie te puāwai, ā, ka whiwhi hāneanea te pūkohu—kāore he kupu, he ātaahua noa iho.

Moonlight at midnight, stillness flows through green pines and bamboo

From this month’s second Zen maxim in Japanese site of Rinzai-Obaku Zen.

The awakening sought in Zen is a state of serene and refreshing clarity.

三更月照幽窓外　松竹青々碧欲流 (さんこうつきはてらすゆうそうのほか　しょうちくせいせいとしてみどりながれんとほっす)

臨黄ネットの今月のふたつ目の禅語から。

禅の目指す悟りの境地とは、静謐で清々しいものである。

Ā marino te pō, e rere ana te mātao i ngā kātete me ngā pīnati

Hei tā te kōrero tuarua o te marama i te wāhanga Hapani o te Rinzai-Obaku Zen.

Ko te māramatanga e whāia ana e te Zen, he āhua mārino, he mātao whakahou i te wairua.

Across the bridge, the village food is delicious, at the other riverbank, the scent of wildflowers lingers

From this month’s first Zen maxim in Japanese site of Rinzai-Obaku Zen.

Zen enlightenment is not about arriving somewhere, but about seeing through illusion and turning your gaze to the here and now.

過橋村酒美　隔岸野花香 (はしをすぎてそんしゅびなり　きしをへだててやかかんばし)

臨黄ネットの今月の最初の禅語から。

禅でいう悟りはどこかに到達することではなく、幻想を抜けて今をまなざすことです。

Ke tua o te arawhiti, he reka ngā kai o te kāinga; kei tāwāhi, ka puta te haunga Ātaahua o ngā puāwai

Hei tā te kōrero tuatahi o te marama i te wāhanga Hapani o te Rinzai-Obaku Zen.

Ehara te māramatanga Zen i te tae atu ki tētahi wāhi kē, engari ko te kite mā te kore mātakite, me te huri atu o te tirohanga ki te wā nei, ki te wā tonu.