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Do your job with your mind as taut as an iron bow strung with wire. This is identical to Zen meditation.

Use your mind strongly even when you walk down the street, such that you wouldn’t even blink if someone unexpectedly thrust a lance at your nose. All warriors should employ such a state of mind all the time in everyday life.

There is a practice designed to enter the Way of Buddha by means of your profession. You should apply this idea, that a man born in a house of valor, polishing a sword and sporting a bow, should always apply attention strongly, as if he were marching right into an army of ten million men.

The strongest men and the greatest masters of martial arts are born that way, so no effort can attain that; but when it comes to exerting our whole heart and disregarding our lives, to whom should we be inferior? No one should think he’ll be beat, even by the greatest warriors. Why? Because if you back down to such a person, who will back down to you?

Thus you are always on duty, required to apply your full attention firmly. If you slack off, you’re no use.

Beware that this stable, firm attitude is itself meditation practice. There is no other method of concentration to seek. Even Buddhism itself is just a matter of applying full attention steadily, without being disturbed by things. Developing a confident attitude that is never pained or vexed or worried or saddened or altered or frightened is called attaining buddhahood.

There are those who discuss the amount of rewards and size of entitlement of men who have exercised considerable military valor, laid their lives on the line, ground down their bones, and become famous. They are foolish! Why not do a warrior’s deed, costly though it be, for the sake of loyalty? People who think of rewards are nothing but military merchants.

There are myriad different methods of practice, but essentially they amount to no more than overcoming thoughts of yourself. The source of suffering is ego, the thought of self. To know this is reason. Knowing the reason for suffering, what a sense of duty does is evoke effort to extinguish the thought of self with a genuine courageous mind. People without reason don’t understand the source of misery and happiness; people without a sense of duty cannot break the bonds of life and death.

Daily Activities of Warriors
A warrior asked, ‘They say the law of Buddha and the law of the world are like the two wheels of a chariot. But nothing would be lacking in the world even without Buddhism. Why liken them to two wheels of a chariot?”

Shosan replied, ‘The law of Buddha and the law of the world are not two separate things. According to a saying’ of Buddha, if you can enter the world successfully there is nothing more to leaving the world.

“Whether Buddhism or worldly law, there is nothing more than reasoning correctly, acting justly, and practicing honesty.

“There are differences in depth of honesty. Not twisting ‘reason, preserving justice, correctness in social relations, not crossing people, not being egotistical-these constitute honesty in the worldly sense. This is a way into the deep via the shallow.

“Honesty in the context of Buddhism means realizing that all conditioned phenomena are illusions, and using the original reality-body in its natural state. This is true honesty.

“The fact is that the ordinary people are very sick patients, while the Buddha is a very great physician. Ordinary people ought to recognize sickness first. In the ignorant mind that fluctuates, there is the sickness of delusion, there are sicknesses of greed and false views, there are sicknesses of weakness and injustice. Based on the mind infected by the three poisons, there are diseases of eighty-four thousand afflictions. Getting rid of this mind is called Buddhism. How is this any different from worldly law?

“People who attain the Way know the principle of fundamental emptiness, use principle and duty as a forge to temper this mind day and night, get rid of the residue of impurities, make it a pure unhindered mind-sword, cut through the root of selfish and obsessive thoughts, overcome all thoughts, surmount everything, and are unfazed by anything, unborn and undying. These are called people of the Way.

“Now, then, ordinary people are those who take the falsehood of illusions to be true, produce a selfish mind attached to what has form, develop greedy, angry, and ignorant thoughts, create all sorts of afflictions and lose their basic mind, always distracted, overcome by thoughts as they occur, racking their brains and belaboring their bodies, without buoyancy of mind, vainly passing the time benighted, alienated from themselves and fixated on things. This is called the mind of ordinary people.

‘That being so, you should know the different terms for the original mind. It is called the adamantine actuality, the indestructible body of reality, This mind is not hung up on things; it is unafraid, unshakable, undismayed, unfazed, undisturbed, and unchanged, master of all. Those who realize this and use it effectively are called great; they are said to have iron guts, and to have attained the Way. People like this are not obstructed by myriad thoughts; able to let go of all things, they are very independent.

“However, people who would practice the Way of Buddha will be unable to succeed unless they have an intrepid mind first. It is impossible to gain access to the Way of Buddha with a weak mind. If you are not rigorously observant and do not practice vigorously, you will experience misery along with those afflictions.

“One who overcomes all things with a firm mind is called a wayfarer. One who has thoughts fixated on appearances, is burdened by everything, and so suffers misery is called an ordinary person.

“So people who work up the courage of violence with an afflicted mind may have the force to’ break through iron walls for the moment, but violence ‘eventually comes to an end. The mind of a strong person, being immovable, does not change. If men who are warriors cultivate this, why would they not attain a strong mind?

“Even in the case of people of outstanding heroism, when the killing demon of impermanence comes their usual power comes to an end, they lose their ferocity, and they cannot exert any effort. When they try to open their eyes they cannot see anything; their ears are faint, their tongues shrivel, and they cannot speak. When the killing demon enters the heart and destroys the internal organs, breathing becomes labored, pain permeates their bodies, and with its force they show timidity toward the killing demon of impermanence, unable to bear the great hardships of death mountain, drowning in the river between here and the afterlife, shamed at the court of the king of death, falling forever into the three evils and four dispositions, disgraced generation to generation, lifetime after lifetime, as self and as other, unable to escape. Would you say this disgrace is insignificant because people of superficial society don’t know of it? Disgrace even in illusory human society is nothing to take lightly; how much the more so eternal disgrace!

“Can someone ignorant of this logic be called someone who knows principle or embodies justice? So you should think ahead.

If you know the principle, you should fear it. If you embody justice, use the fierce and firm mind-sword to cut down the enemy of birth and death and live in great peace.”

Question: The way to practice Buddhism is consummated in knowing principle, practicing justice, and realizing the importance of honesty. Please give more detailed indications of how to practice honesty.
Answer: Although the paths of cultivation have a thousand differences and myriad distinctions, what is essential is no more than quelling selfish thought. The source of suffering is self, the thought of self. People without reason do not discern the source of misery and happiness; people without justice cannot cut the tie of birth and death. Give a hard look.
So in the mind of ordinary people, there are buoyant attitudes that overcome things, and depressive attitudes overcome by things. To act with a buoyant attitude is the doorway into the realm of buddhas, to act with a depressive attitude is the roadway into hell. With the power of the vow dedicated to liberation, you should keep a buoyant attitude day and night.

Here are types of buoyant attitudes, substantiated by bravery:
1. An attitude of constant vigilance over birth and death
2. An attitude of gratitude
3. An attitude of unhesitating advance
4. An attitude acknowledging the principle of cause and effect
5. An attitude of observing the inconstancy of illusion
6. An attitude of observing the impurity of this body
7. An attitude of being careful of time
8. An attitude of faith in the Three Treasures
9. An attitude of self-sacrifice for your leader
10. An attitude of watching over yourself
11. An attitude of self-sacrifice
12. An attitude of acknowledging your own errors
13. An attitude like being in the presence of nobles or rulers
14. An attitude of commitment to benevolence and justice
15. An attitude of attentiveness to the words of buddhas and Zen masters
16. An attitude of compassion and honesty
17. An attitude of consideration of the conditions of the most important matter

These attitudes emerge from the brave ,and resolute mind, so they are free of attachment of any sort, beyond things, and therefore buoyant. Even if you die in action, you won’t suffer much.

People who would cultivate these attitudes should only set their eyes on images of such figures as Vajrasattvas or the Immovable One. These represent the attitude of overcoming devils. If you have a brave and resolute heart, you should know this. Don’t gaze on them with a faint heart.

When this brave heart is continuous, the citadel of mind is secure and you have unobstructed independent moral force. Even if an army of demons eighty-four thousand strong arises at once and attacks you, they cannot even face you-instead, they lose their power, are drained of strength, and will all disappear.

If people specialize in martial valor, why would they not exercise this attitude? If you are weak-minded, with thoughts fixating on things, the army of demons will gain strength, increase in power, and immediately invade the citadel of your real essence and confound your mind-king; the six bandits will perk up in delight, deviant devils will gain freedom and fly through the eighteen realms, eventually landing you in hell. You have to be prepared!

Here are types of depressive attitudes burdened by things:
1. A negligent attitude forgetful of self and careless of mind
2. A tourist’s attitude living on hiking in the mountains
3. An attitude ignorant of justice and reason
4. An attitude ignorant of the principle of cause and effect
5. An attitude ignorant of the vanity of the evanescent
6. An attitude of interest in fame and fortune
7. An attitude of ostentation
8. A suspicious attitude
9. An obsessive attitude
10. A weak and cowardly attitude
11. A greedy and callous attitude
12. A judgrnental attitude
13. An egotistical, arrogant attitude
14. An attitude of jealousy in love
15. An ungrateful attitude
16. An obsequious attitude
17. An attitude oblivious of birth and death

Also, there are seven feelings-joy, anger, sorrow, care, pity, fear, and surprise. It is said that myriad illnesses derive from these seven feelings. Attitudes like these are states of mind that come from darkness and are of limitless variety, but they can be diagnosed by means of the foregoing presentation.

Because they emerge as embodiments of obsession, as they occur from thought to thought, as you are overcome by those thoughts and lose the original mind, these are states of mind sunk in pain and torment.

When you dwell in these depressive states of mind, if duty suddenly requires you to die, your distress will be intense. So to overcome oneself is considered sagacity, while to suffer under the burden of one’s own mental state is considered stupidity.

When you manage to overcome your own mind, you overcome myriad concerns, rise above all things, and are free. When you are overcome by your own mind, you are burdened by myriad concerns, subordinate to things, unable to rise above.

“Mind your mind; guard it resolutely. Since it is the mind that confuses the mind, don’t let your mind give in to your mind.” This song is superlative. When you indulge your mind, thoughts fixated on appearances increase and you fall into the three mires [of greed, aggression, and folly]. When you slay your mind you arrive at buddhahood immediately.

An old saying goes, “Kill, kill! If you stop killing for a moment, you’ll go to hell like an arrow shot.” Pay attention to sayings like this. The Scripture an Mindfulness of Truth says, ‘The wise are always sorrowful, as if confined in prison; the ignorant are always happy, as if they were in heaven.” The buddhas speak like this. The focus of past sages should not be unfamiliar. You should know what is most important. Why should you wind up in hell by enjoying this body, a dream phantom?

You have to correct your mind time and again. If our personal state of mind shows in our faces, it will be hard to interact with people.

Just strengthen your conscience, abide by the principle of honesty, develop the power of the vow to detach from appearances and detach from names, let go of everything, relinquish your life with the brave energetic power of faith, and proceed intently and urgently on the unexcelled Way.

When this attitude is uninterrupted day or night, resolution permeating your being, kept up even in dreams, so that it ultimately matures, inside and outside will naturally become one, and all of a sudden you’ll wake up from the past dream, and Buddhism and worldly laws will both be realized, spanning past, present, and future, extending throughout the ten directions.