Getting Beyond Light and Shade
Gateway Talks
Master Rinzai exhorts us to focus our attention on liberation and awakening and not to get distracted by the world.
Martin Goodson gives a commentary on the following passage from The Zen Teachings of Rinzai, tr. Irmgard Schloegl.
'Venerable Ones, do not delay and spend your days idly. In former days wen I could not yet see clearly, all the world seemed dark to me. I could not get beyond light and shade. I ran around with fever in my belly and with my heart in a flurry, asking about the Way. Later I gained strength and now I am here, preaching deliverance to you, followers of the Way. My advice is not to come here for just your food and clothes. Life in the world passes quickly, and it is difficult to meet good teachers; the Udambara plant only flowers once in a while.'