saying

On the Unity of Practice in Daily Activity

Teachings of the Fourth Patriarch

Tang

Traditionally attributed

Text

The Way is not separate from your daily activities. Walking, standing, sitting, lying down—each of these is the practice ground. When you eat, eat with full awareness. When you work, work with full awareness. Do not divide your life into sacred and profane. The one who chops wood mindfully is no different from the one who sits in meditation. If you can maintain awareness in all your activities, then your entire life becomes practice, and there is no gap between zazen and daily life.

license: public_domain

Attribution

Lineage: Early Chan

By Dayi Daoxin

From Teachings of the Fourth Patriarch

Sources