Encouraging Words



Encouraging Words for Your Practice
someday you will die

lying on your sick bed

about to breathe your last

you will be assailed by every kind of pain

your mind will be filled

with fears and anxieties

and you will not know

what to do or where to go

only then will you realize

that you have not practised well

the skandhas/aggregates (matter, sensations, conceptions, impulses and consciousness)

and the four elements in you

will quickly disentegrate
and your consciousness will be pulled wherever your ancient, twisted karma leads it

impermanence does not hesitate

death will not wait

you will not be able to extend your life by even a second

how many thousands more times

will you have to pass through the gates of birth and death

if these words are challenging

even insulting

let them be an encouragement

for you to change

practice heroically

do not accumulate unnecessary possessions don’t give up

still your mind

end wrong perceptions

concentrate and do not run after the objects of your senses

practice diligently

be determined not to let your days and months pass by wastefully

Zen Master Guishan 

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