Opening Verse
OPENING VERSE - FINDING THE TRUE SELF
“Heaven and Earth share the same root with me;
All things in the universe and I together comprise one body.”
Hearing this, an ancient man says, “A sage with the perfected Wisdom eye reckons such words as those in a dream.”
With his wisdom eye of truth, he will be a teacher in the realms of Gods and humans.
Once one sees the true nature and attains the wisdom eye of truth, it is eternal. Everyone has a secret storehouse with an inexhaustible bounty of treasures—how can it ever be depleted? The life of a sage who has finished his work is immutable for a thousand lives and ten thousand kalpas to come. In the moment that one knows and attains this, the path is suddenly realized.
Darkness is originally in light, so do not say that one meets another because of darkness. Light is in darkness, so do not say that one sees another by way of light. Where all Dharmas cease to exist, they certainly exist in eternity; when all Dharmas arise, they are in utter emptiness and eternal stillness. The path is suddenly realized.
Life is in death, and death is in life.
Everyone in the Four Seas and Five Lakes! If you wish to know the world of truth, sincerely look for your true self in everyday life, whether awake or asleep.
To cast a fishing line is to reel in the horse and
The dragon of stellar constitution.
All subtle and profound words beyond form or convention
Are to find the one with clear eyes who sees this mountain monk.
Jinje Beopwon
Supreme Patriarch, Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism
Republic of Korea