Hakuin

Not knowing how near the Truth is,

People seek It far away, -- what a pity!

They are like one who, in the midst of water,

Cries imploringly for a drink of water,

Or like the son of a rich man

Who wanders away among the poor. ...

Those who testify to the truth of the nature of the Self,

Have found it by reflecting within themselves,

And have gone beyond the realm of mere ideas.

For them opens the gate of the oneness of cause and effect;

And straight runs the path of non-duality ...

Abiding with the Undivided amidst the divided,

Whether going or returning, they remain forever unmoved.

Holding fast to, and remembering,

That which is beyond thought,

In their every act, they hear the voice of the Truth.

How limitless the sky of unbounded freedom!

How pure the perfect moonlight of Wisdom!

At that moment, what do they lack?

As the eternally quiescent Truth reveals Itself to them,

This very earth is the lotus-land of Purity,

And this body is the body of the Buddha.

-Hakuin