Good morning!
We’re having longer days now as we approach the spring equinox. So, when we sit in zazen, we have a peaceful and a pretty bright world.
Every day Rui-yan said to himself, and then responded, “Master (???)!” “Yes.” “Are you awake?” “Yes.” “Don’t be deceived anytime, any day.” “Yes.”
When we come here and sit in peace, we can see truth. But, we must also act. How can we act in a good way for all, in the beginning, in the middle, and in the end?
The Global Ethic sets out four principles: no killing, no stealing, no lying, and equal partnership between men and women, based on the truth of interdependence.
Of course, we must not only accommodate these principles in human societies now, but we must also understand and act on a global scale and in universal truth beyond generations, gender, and genuses.
Notes:
Rui-yan Shi-yan: Zen master in the later Tan Dynasty.
The four principles outlined in the Global Ethic are based on the Five Precepts, and on the Ten Precepts and the Decalog (Ten Commandments). They form the cornerstone of The Declaration Toward a Global Ethic, issued by the Parliament of the World’s Religions in 1993 in Chicago.
3/8/11