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Phap Hien was a Vietnamese Zen master. He lived in the late 5th century and early the 6th century.
When he was a young monk at the Phap Van Temple he met Vinitaruci (?-594) who was one of the
successors of Seng-tsan, the Third Patriarch... continue...

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STORIES, BOOKS & MEDIA
» koans, stories & words » zen readings » recommended books » book reviews » art & prints » audio, videos, DVD's

EFFORT
Visitor 1:
Like a falling house of cards, effort defeats itself, doesn't it?

CT:
When an effort being made,
Apart from the effort, nowhere else the one who is making the effort can be found.
Apart from him, nowhere else the effort can be found.

Therefore, it might be said:
He is the effort itself, and the effort is himself.
If the effort defeats itself, then it means he defeats himself.

Friends, would you like to come and see:
Someone here is fighting against himself, defeating himself, and winning himself.

What is that man doing?

Visitor 2:
He is knocking over the cards, ending the game.

CT:
Would you think he will resume the game and play it by himself again?

Visitor & CT 10/21/03

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