Sandokai

Identity of Relative and Absolute


The mind of the great sage of India was intimately conveyed from
West to East. Among human beings are wise men and fools, but
in the Way there is no northern or southern patriarch. The subtle
source is clear and bright. The tributary streams flow through the
darkness. To be attached to things is illusion. To encounter the
absolute is not yet enlightenment. Each and all, the subjective
and objective spheres are related and at the same time
independent. Related, yet working differently, though each keeps
its own place. Form makes the character and appearance different.
Sounds distinguish comfort and discomfort. The dark makes all
words one, the brightness distinguishes good and bad phrases.
The four elements return to their nature as a child to its mother.
Fire is hot, wind moves, water wet, earth hard. Eyes see, ears
hear, nose smells, tongue tastes the salt and sour. Each is
indipendent of the other. Cause and effect must return to the
great reality. The words high and low are used relatively.
Within light there is darkness, but do not try to understand
that darkness. Within darkness there is light, but do not look for
that light. Light and darkness are a pair, like the foot before
the foot behind in walking. Each thing has its own intrinsic value
and is related to everything else in function and position.
Ordinary life fits the absolute as a box and its lid. The
absolute works together with the relative like two arrows
meeting in midair. Reading words you should grasp the great
reality. Do not judge by any standards. If you do not see the Way,
you do not see it even as you walk on it. When you walk the
Way, it is not near, it is not far. If you are deluded, you are
mountains and rivers away from it. I respectfully say to those
who wish to be enlightened: Do not waste your time by night
or day.