- Chapter One: Prologue
- Chapter Two: Doctrine
- Chapter Three: Practice
- Chapter Four: The Way of Humanity
- Chapter Five: Cause and Effect
- Chapter Six: Doubts Clarified
- Chapter Seven: The Principle of the Nature
- Chapter Eight: Buddhahood
- Chapter Nine: Sending on Spirits in Transition
- Chapter Ten: Belief and Dedication
- Chapter Eleven: Maxims
- Chapter Twelve: Exemplary Acts
- Chapter Thirteen: On the Order
- Chapter Fourteen: Prospects
- Chapter Fifteen: Entrusting
Dictionary
The Scripture of the Founding Master
Chapter Seven: The Principle of the Nature
25
The Founding Master said, “These days, there are often many people who claim to be experts on the principle of the nature who try to resolve it without using words. This is a serious malady. Those who truly understand it should know how to clearly distinguish its head from its tail, even though it originally does not possess either head or tail; and also know how to clearly describe it in words, even though it is beyond all language. Those who truly understand it will show it in whatever they do, and those who are ignorant of it will show their ignorance of it in whatever they do. However, one should not make too much of verbal expression, either. The thousands of scriptures and tens of thousands of treatises attributed to the Buddha and the enlightened masters are just like fingers pointing at the moon.”
The Scripture of the Founding Master
Chapter Seven: The Principle of the Nature
25
The Founding Master said, “These days, there are often many people who claim to be experts on the principle of the nature who try to resolve it without using words. This is a serious malady. Those who truly understand it should know how to clearly distinguish its head from its tail, even though it originally does not possess either head or tail; and also know how to clearly describe it in words, even though it is beyond all language. Those who truly understand it will show it in whatever they do, and those who are ignorant of it will show their ignorance of it in whatever they do. However, one should not make too much of verbal expression, either. The thousands of scriptures and tens of thousands of treatises attributed to the Buddha and the enlightened masters are just like fingers pointing at the moon.”
