SO TO ZEN - Shasta Abbey

18 Sōtō Zenhow to live in Truth ourselves and how to lead others to live inTruth. It may be said that compassion and wisdom are the twinpillars of Truth. Wisdom means to know the True Nature of theuniverse and human life; compassion means to embrace all,rejecting none. The three laws given above are called collectivelythe three signs of Buddhism, for they represent the mostessential characteristics of Buddhism. The law of causation hasa particularly close relation to the other two laws which teachimpermanence and selflessness. The former law functionsbecause all things have the latter two characteristics. To knowthis is to have achieved the peace of nirvana. In MahynaBuddhism we combine these three signs and say that they arebut the One Sign which reveals the True Nature of all things.When we view the nature of things with the eyes of enlightenment,we see that all things are manifestations of Truth. Inorder to arrive at such enlightenment it is absolutely essential tohave grasped thoroughly the idea of k‰ (Skt. ±‰nyat), i.e., thatnothing has a fixed, unchanging existence.The law that all things are impermanent, based on thedoctrines of causation and no-soul, ultimately developed intothe concept of k‰ expounded in the Scriptures of GreatWisdom, Hannya Ky‡ (Skt. Praj– S‰tras). Buddhism rejectsall attachments, because it regards life as being filled with aneverflowing vitality constantly undergoing change. The law ofcausation, aided by the laws of impermanence and no-soul, was