SO TO ZEN - Shasta Abbey

The Basic Thought of Buddhism 13essentially in a state of motion, continuously undergoingchange and radiating energy. Many centuries ago Buddhismtaught principles which agree with conclusions that sciencearrived at only yesterday.However, Buddhism is a religion, not a finite science. Butit is a religion which does not contradict science, but rather assimilatesit. The law that all things are impermanent teaches usthat we cannot spend one moment without experiencing someactivity and demands that we live in Truth. Each moment is asacred segment of time which can never be repeated. This lifecomes only once. There can be no other experience for us asidefrom the one in our present life. Therefore, it is essential that wearouse in our hearts a fervent vow to realize enlightenment.The last words of the Buddha to us at his Parinirvana [death]were: ÒAll things are impermanent. Strive hard, freeing yourselffrom all corruption.Ó The Zen School says, ÒBoth life anddeath are a serious matter. The law of impermanence is incontinuous operation. You must strive hard to save yourselffrom the flames of passion that burn from within. The perfectionof each second, the grasping of each moment, must be theresult of a correct understanding of the law of impermanence.ÓBuddhism uses the term innen sh‡sho: literally, cominginto existence because of direct and indirect causes (Skt. hetupratyaya),and the term engi: literally, arising from cause (Skt.prat−tya-samutpda), to indicate the horizontal, i.e., space,