A monk asked Hôgen, “I hear that a sutra says, ‘From the basis of non-abiding all dharmas are established.’ What is this basis of non-abiding?” 
Hôgen said, “Form arises from what has no substance yet; name comes from what has no name yet.”
Tag: Prayer
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CASE 74: Hôgen’s "Form and Name"
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CASE 73: Sôzan’s Filial Fulfillment
A monk asked Sôzan, “When one leaves off his mourning clothes, how about that?”
Sôzan said, “Sôzan today has fulfilled filial piety.”
The monk said, “How about after you have fulfilled piety?”
Sôzan said, “Sôzan loves to get drunk.”
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Eight of Wands
mark periods of rapid, clear communication.
a feeling of quick-moving energy, and a sense that obstacles are being swept out of your path.
direct divine instructions that causes a complete transformation
blow away the cobwebs from our pain, and heal old wounds.
Try to locate those things – whether major or minor, that have refused resolution till now.
allow your sense of humour full rein
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XXI The Universe
card of completion.
we have come to the end of a given period of development,
, try to bring something to a point of completion.
remember where you came from.
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Nine of Swords
it always indicates hardness and unkindness, a total lack of consideration or compassion.
there is no ethical responsibility for the victim of the attack, nor even any useful result from its application.
Here we see venom dealt for venom’s sake;
we need to use any method at our disposal to lift us away from the whole thing.
you must examine yourself first and foremost. Are you treating yourself badly? Are you giving yourself a hard time? Are you chipping away at yourself relentlessly?
there is never an excuse for cruelty.
this card comes up as a firm warning of danger
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CASE 72: Chûyû’s "Monkey"
Kyôzan asked Chûyû, “What does buddha-nature mean?”
Chûyû said, “I will explain it for you by allegory. Suppose there is a room with six windows. Inside there is a monkey. Outside, someone shouts, ‘Monkey! monkey!’ It immediately responds. If someone calls, ‘Monkey!’ through any of the windows, it responds just the same. It is just like that.”
Kyôzan said, “How about when the monkey is asleep?”
Chûyû descended from his Zen seat, grasped Kyôzan and said, “O monkey, monkey, there you are!”
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CASE 71: Suigan’s "Eyebrows’
Towards the end of summer, Suigan instructed the assembly, saying, “All summer I’ve preached to you, my brothers. Look here, are Suigan’s eyebrows still there?”
Hofuku said, “The robber’s heart is terrified!”
Chôkei said, “They are well grown!”
Unmon said, “Barrier!”
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St. Symeon of Thessalonica
The work of prayer belongs to the angels, and is, therefore, the special concern of the Church. Every other work, i.e., charity, nursing the brethren, visiting the sick, caring for prisoners, releasing captives, and other similar things, is done by the brethren in love and offered by them to God.
Similarly, poverty, fasting, sleeping on the ground, prostrations, vigils, etc., are
good and like a sacrifice to God, because they aim to subdue and humble the body so that we may be purified and approach God and become friends of God — yet these things do not present us directly to God, whereas prayer does so and unites us with Him.
A person praying acts towards God like a friend — conversing, confiding, requesting — and through this becomes one with our Maker Himself.
David Given Schwarm 