The Wumen Guan has an appendix titled "Zen Caveats" (禪箴) with one-line aphorisms dealing with Zen practice The word zhēn (箴) means "caveat", "warning", or "admonition", but it also has the meaning of "needle" or "probe" (as in acupuncture
needles) and is sometimes translated as "Zen Needles". As with the main
koans, each caveat challenges the Zen student's attachment to dualistic
concepts, here those especially related to Zen practice.
Following the rules and protecting the regulations is binding oneself without rope.
Moving freely vertically and horizontally without obstruction is the way of outsiders and the nightmare army.
To preserve the heart mind and to purify it by letting impurities
settle to the bottom in quiescence is the perverted Zen of silent
illumination.
Neglecting the written records with unrestrained ideas is falling into a deep pit.
To be awake and not ignorant is to wear chains and shoulder a cangue.
Thinking good and thinking evil are the halls of heaven and hell.
A view of Buddha and a view of Dharma are the two enclosing mountains of iron.
A person who perceives thoughts as they immediately arise is fiddling with spectral consciousness.
However, being on a high plateau practicing samadhi is the stratagem of living in the house of ghosts.
To advance results in ignoring truth; to retreat results in contradicting the lineage.
Neither to advance nor to retreat is being a breathing corpse.
Just say, how will you walk?
You must work hard to live in the present and, to finish, all the
more. I do not advise the unfortunate excess of continual suffering.
A message from Sidi Ali Zhuiqan. In the heart of Putrajaya west lake precints, there exist a zen sufic retreat in year of 2014. It had preparatory work, reopened its activities and aims to foster the understanding of Tawhid and Sufism.
Among the means used to this end are translation from Old texts, the glorious Quran, Prophetic Traditions, Zen works and Confucian masters discourses. For future, it planned to bring a true Teacher from West, a Chinese Monk and a Zen Master from Japan.
We quote from First Zen Notes
dated June 1956, Berlin
by Wang Tsing Lung:
Sentient beings are numberless I take a vow to enlighten them all. Worldly desires are endless. I take a vow to uproot them all. The gates of Mercy-Rahmat are manifold. I take a vow to enter them all. The goal of Wisdom-Marifa is ever beyond. I take a vow to attain it.
Attaining satori
Satori is considered a "first step" or embarkation toward nirvana:
Ch'an expressions refer to enlightenment as "seeing your
self-nature". But even this is not enough. After seeing your
self-nature, you need to deepen your experience even further and bring
it into maturation. You should have enlightenment experience again and
again and support them with continuous practice. Even though Ch'an says
that at the time of enlightenment, your outlook is the same as of the
Buddha, you are not yet a full Buddha.[7]
The student's mind must be prepared by rigorous study, with the use of koans, and the practice of meditation
to concentrate the mind, under the guidance of a teacher. Koans are
short anecdotes of verbal exchanges between teachers and students,
typically of the Song dynasty, dealing with Buddhist teachings. The Rinzai-school utilizes classic collections of koans such as the Gateless Gate. The Gateless Gate was assembled by the early 13th-century Chinese Zen master Wumen Hui-k'ai (無門慧開).
Wumen himself struggled for six years with koan "Zhaozhou’s dog", assigned to him by Yuelin Shiguan (月林師觀; Japanese: Gatsurin Shikan) (1143–1217), before attaining kenshō. After his understanding had been confirmed by Yuelin, Wumen wrote the following enlightenment poem:
A thunderclap under the clear blue sky All beings on earth open their eyes;
Everything under heaven bows together; Mount Sumeru leaps up and dances.
On my path to listen to my inner wisdom, I
have found clarity through tea culture and ceremony, and wish to share
this gift with others.
Tea is not a drink. Tea culture is
Buddhism, is Daoism, is Zen tranquility. As we, or at least I, explore
the depth of tea culture, I am not drinking tea. I am absorbing the
wisdom of millennium. I am going inward in self-reflection.
I am growing
outward, reaching to the very boundaries of the universe. Inward and
outward become one. I am one with everything; everything is within me.
This journey, this quest for unity, is what I wish to share with others.
Tea is the heart of the Chinese tea
ceremony and plays a central role in Chinese culture. When sharing tea,
the host and ceremony participants smell the tea, taste it and enjoy the
many layers of taste discovered with every mouthful.
The tea ceremony reflects the search for
beauty in every object of the world, in accordance with the Chinese Dao
philosophy. To be one with tea is to be in harmony with nature, with
oneself reflecting Buddhist and Daoist teachings.
Sharing tea is part of everyday life — to
say hello, to thank someone, to apologize to them, to honor them. When
you pour tea for somebody, you humble yourself before them.
“Drink your tea slowly and reverently,
as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly,
without rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment. Only this
moment is life.”
Second Note:
Chinese scholars prefer the
idiom or words - Chan Cha Yi Wei(禅茶一味), a philosophical definition to
combine the tea culture and zen philosophy. It was firstly mentioned by
Buddhist Master Yuanwu Keqin(圆悟克勤,1063-1135) in Song Dynasty. His book
Biyan Collection written in Jiashan Temple in Hunan province is accepted
as the NO.1 Marvelous Book of the World in Southern Korea. His
calligraphy masterpiece - Cha Chan Yi Wei, was preserved by Monk Yixiu
Zongchun, a respected monk of Japan,and later became the national
treasure of Japan as well.
Chancha Yiwei tells us that the Zen share the same taste as the Tea, and
deeply speaking, they share the same life philosophy. To be a
highlighted part of Chinese culture, Chancha culture is the specific
embodiment and show of traditional spirituality of Chinese people in
daily life. The core philosophy of Zen and Tea Culture is summarized
into four Chinese characters - Zheng (正, Justification), Qing (清,
Purification), He(和, Peace) and Ya (雅, Elegance).
All of which show
three main philosophical essences of three spiritual pillars - Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.
Zheng or Honesty is emphasized by Confucianism. He or Peace is
emphasized by Buddhism, and Qing or Purification emphasized by Taoism.
Ya or Elegance is the typical characteristics of traditional
well-cultivated elites of culture and academics. Drinking tea when
talking about the Zen culture is an enjoyment and surely an improvement
of life.
The root of Zen is spiritual edification or enlightenment. It is a
long-term self-cultivation from the misunderstanding to total
enlightenment, and from vulgarity to elegance. Zen & Tea culture is a
special form to cultivate the nature and temperament of people. To the
popular explanation of Chan Cha Tea Culture, four aspects will be
included - gratitude(感恩), tolerance(包容), sharing(分享) and relationship
establishment with benevolence, friendship and Buddhism(结缘).
Explained scientifically, drinking tea is much beneficial to health.
Good for digestion, wiping off the flood flat and promoting the
secretion of saliva or body fluid. However, the light taste and the
elegance of tea are an important embodiement of tea culture for life
cultivation.
a
1. With leaders in ph.d and master degrees, cant cope with sexual time bombs. Fertility below 1.0 means no full replacement for future mums and dads. You got half men. Castrated dogs. Wild cats. Aqua world class sea animals and performers. Pure girls women ladies rare commodities. Endowed with diamond, gold and silver certificates of life achievements. Bugis street and Orchard road- terminate those vermins of Matrix you encounter in restricted ribawi war zones.
2. We put financial powers ahead of everything. Buildings came second. Freedom, you choose any alcoholic and hard drinks laced with grass and herbal concoctions. Gambling with luxurious spa and resorts. Entertainment only for dimless. Bright ones emigrated in droves. Pinoys china dolls and foreign talents keep the island awake. Our wealth in hundred billions. Papers and digital banks.
3. Still, a multilingual film and drama director from Penang can make a living funded by FTC. He married our genetically engineered generation flower. My grandma spoke urdu, malay and hakka. English just for survival, legal battles, surveilance and weeding out dated marxists.
4. Our lawyer teacher F.Yeow and J.Habibi taught us well. Fight the system, not the men. Make rich before enslave others. Buy water at discount rates. Sell it like zionists to abbas clones. Pour more sands unto Old man head. Nuclear alerts if my oil fields stolen by ex-blackwater engineers. Shoot-shoo away the naval intruders into our sea space. No need Conquerors and Victoria class special forces. Mas selamat, we planted a chip in your head. So all your future contacts are in dangers.
5. My grandpa entitled to Tumasik holdings its gold and silver bullions since 1911. Dr.Sun yatsen deposited it thru rich endowment nominees and fake accounts. Qing spies cannot ask British to consficated the opium profits. Largest heroin (not exist yet) warehouse in Nanyang worth billion now. Make it legal. Establish free zones to trade. Pay in silver yuans. Cede Macau, HK and Shanghai to redbeard christians and mongrels offsprings. That is Philipines in the early 19oos, richest then. More than 60% controlled by catholic forced educated elites. Aquino pay respect to her Fujian roots.
6. Now Indonesia, how we can scam it lands, seas and skies to our technological dominance ? Minus its less educated class. Still need nanny, nurses, musicians, air hottesses and front managers. Investment bankers, speculators, private funders, lux-property developers and scientists -they are dangerous, dormant viruses in their genes !
7. Huzier Jed Li Fengzi Mittal Jim Riger Salim Kretek Quok Hijabista Celine Dion....you are all welcome to Lion City state. Fifth world largest sovereign fund. What Confucius taught about sheng ren, chuntzi, ming, tian, chi, te' and jen ? I am atheist -SM Lee Kuan Yew. All religions same ( useless maybe, unless like Harvest Church dabble in shares and funds). Read two of his biographies. One sponsored by GLC. Another subtly elevated to 'sainthood'. President of Synoan is not chinese but oldguards of meritocracy. Dr.Ishak whom ah ? Bravo cikgu Zaini for nurturing the upper seranggon road of darul arqam first che guevara headquarter. My guerilla stints still fresh. Richard Koh the pioneer. Felix Fuad Wong elite path finder. Ridzwan Wu professor of peace study. Wife Dr.Aishah Ong who served us dinner. Blue mosque an-Nur quite near. Two years of national training with zen Master Ishaq Ma. Not related to Haji Ali Yunnan of Kuala Trengganu, thus writes Awang Goneng from his London hideout in 2013.
8. Outwardly a citizen and inwardly an anarch sage - Chuangtzi. Try that path. O Tumasik inheritors ! your inner light and faith almost gone. Statism or geo-strategic partners censored your old age wisdom. One race is sub-human. Other races genetically flawed. Salute the cyclist rebels. Who fold and rode their bikes without taxes, interest rates, premium shares or toxic derivative products.
9. One last letters of blue zen : "azillatin alal-mumina. aizzatin alal-kafirina. yujahiduna fisabilillah. wa la yakhofuna laumata laaim. zalika fadhullahi yu'tihi man yasyaau. wallahu wasiun alim.". Our Mater is Vast-Rich and Most Knowing-Aware. Bend and bow to our winds.
It was related from Ali radhiallahu anhu.
He asked Rasul s.a.w about his sunna.
He said :
1. Marifa was my main capital.
2. Intellect was my deen pillars.
3. Love is my foundation.
4. Yearning for Allah is my riding.
5. Zikir of Allah is my intimacy.
6. Certainty is my treasure.
7. Solemness is my companion.
8. Knowledge is my weapon.
9. Patience is my contentment.
10. Ridha is my sustenance.
11. Zuhud is my clothing.
12. Yaqin is my strength.
13. Sincerity is my healing.
14. Obedience is my helper.
15. Jihad is my character.
16. And my eye coolness is in prayer.
Embrace the light and let it guide you
beyond the winds of desire.
There you will find a spring and nourished by its see waters
like a tree you will bear fruit forever.
The
first aspect of arriving at a judgment is to understand the subject
matter, in this case what paper money is. After that we can look at the
Qur’an and the fiqh.
Paper
money has evolved in nature through history. What we know today as
paper money is not what it used to be. This evolution has passed through
basically three stages:
1] A promissory note backed by gold or silver.
2] A process of unilateral devaluation leading to a complete revocation of the contractual agreement.
3] A piece of paper not backed by any specie, whose legal value is determined by the compulsion of the State Law.
Let us examine these three stages one by one.
1.
Firstly, paper money was issued by banks and it represented a certain
amount of gold or silver, known as the ‘specie’. Even though it never
was 100% backed by the specie, the issuing bank was obliged to pay the
amount on demand. In this sense it represented a kind of debt.
When paper money was a debt, was it acceptable? What issues concerning Islamic Law are relevant?
At
this stage a certain amount of gold was held by typically a banking
institution and it issued a paper certificate giving the owner the right
to withdraw the specie on demand. (We will ignore the fact that this
was a banking institution and it would have been dealing with Riba. We
will pretend that they did not deal with interest in order to
concentrate on the issue of paper money itself.)
A)
The first issue that arises is the one of amana (trust): Your gold is in
trust with a treasurer. What does Islamic Law have to say on this
issue? Allah ta’ala says in the Qur’an in Surat al ‘Imran (3, 74):
Among the People of the Book there are some who,
if you trust them with a pile of gold,
will return it to you.
But there are others among them who,
if you trust them with a single dinar,
will not return it to you,
unless you stay standing over them.
That is because they say,
“We are under no obligation
where the gentiles are concerned.”
They tell a lie against Allah and they know it.
The
hukum (legal judgment or command) of this ayat, according to Qadi Abu
Bakr ibn al-Arabi in his ‘Ahkamul Qur’an’, is as follows:
“It is forbidden for Muslims to have amana with the kuffar outside Dar al-Islam,”
that
is, “without standing over them” under the power of a Muslim authority.
And the explanation for this is found in the ayat itself: “That is
because they say ‘we are under no obligation,’ that is to say, because
they can/will repudiate the agreement. Since this has been proven to be
historically the case, we may conclude that this is of vital importance.
What
this means is that it is not acceptable for Muslims to have money
deposited with kuffar anywhere since we do not have a Dar al-Islam in
which to exercise ‘standing over them’. A lighter interpretation would
suggest that it would be acceptable to have amana with a kafir if the
deposits are under the power of a Muslim authority. We accept the latter
version. But what it categorically denies is the possibility of having
amana with the kuffar when the wealth is stored under kafir authority.
We
can conclude that when paper currencies—dollars, pounds, francs,
etc.—were a debt, because the specie they represented was stored in
trust away from our control, they could not be accepted by us, since we
would fear that they would repudiate the agreement—as in fact later
happened.
B)
Now, assuming that the amana is under a Muslim authority, the second
issue that arises is whether the promissory note can in itself be
treated as money. In other words, whether the note can be used as a
medium of exchange according to Islamic Law.
In
this case the law of ‘transfer of debts’ becomes relevant. According to
the School of the Amal of Madinah we find the following judgment and
explanation in the Muwatta of Imam Malik:
Malik
said, “One should not buy a debt owned by a man whether present or
absent, without the confirmation of the one who owes the debt, nor
should one buy a debt owed by a dead person even if one knows what the
deceased man has left. That is because to buy it is an uncertain
transaction and one does not know whether the transaction will be
completed or not.”
He
also said, “The explanation of what is disapproved of in buying a debt
owed by someone absent or dead is that it is not known which unknown
debtors may have claims on the dead person. If the dead person is liable
for another debt, the price which the buyer gives on strength of the
debt may become worthless.”
Malik
said, “There is another fault in that as well. He is buying something
which is not guaranteed for him, and so if the deal is not completed,
what he has paid becomes worthless. This is an uncertain transaction and
it is not good.”
The
general idea is that in order to transfer a debt the original issuer of
the debt (the person who has the obligation) must guarantee the value of
the debt to the transferee (the person receiving the note). Thus, the
first contract is liquidated and a new private contract is created. Debt
is always kept as a private contract between the parties. It does not
circulate without the creation of a new private guarantee (a new
contract). The reason is that the person who has issued the debt may
have more obligations than he can fulfil.
How
would this injunction have applied when paper money was issued by the
banks as a debt? Since every bank—and this is the whole idea of credit
money—issued more obligations than the amount that they held in specie,
it would not be acceptable to use any of its notes for trading. The
reason is, that the person would be accepting a debt that is not
guaranteed for him, especially when it is known that it cannot be
guaranteed for him since the issuer (the bank) has more obligations than
what it can fulfil. If every depositor in the bank were to demand the
value of their notes, as is the case in a ‘run on the bank’, the bank
would be unable to fulfill its obligations.
Conclusion.
When
money was a debt, in Islamic Law you would not have been allowed to use
it. You would not be allowed to use a dollar, or a pound, or any note,
whether it came from a kafir bank or a Muslim-owned bank, whether the
specie was stored in a kafir country or in a Muslim country. Banking
notes are not permitted to circulate.
But
if the note is issued not by a bank, but instead by a person, and that
person is present and can privately guarantee the physical possession of
the goods, can in this case the note be transferred, sold or circulate
in general? What aspects of the Law are relevant to the analysis of this
case?
Again
we have to go to the transfer of debts. What is relevant here is: what
is the specie that is held as guarantee for the obligation? In other
words, what is the specie of the note? If the obligation is in gold
(money) then another set of restrictions come into place. If it is food
then, again, another set of restrictions come into place. This is
because gold, silver and food have a particular significance to
trading—they are commonly used as a medium of exchange. The case is the
following:
In the chapter called Money-Changing of the Muwatta of Imam Malik we read:
“Yahya
related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Malik ibn Aws ibn
al‑Hadathan an-Nasri that he once asked to exchange 100 dinars. He said,
‘Talha ibn ‘Ubaydullah called me over and we made a mutual agreement
that he would make the exchange with me. He took the gold and turned it
about in his hand and then said, “I cannot do it until my treasurer
brings the money to me from al-Ghaba.” ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab was
listening and ‘Umar said, “By Allah! Do not leave him until you have
taken it from him!” Then he said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘Gold for silver is usury except
hand to hand. Wheat for wheat is usury except hand to hand. Dates for
dates is usury except hand to hand. Barley for barley is usury except
hand to hand.’””
The
first restriction is that you cannot use the gold or food in an exchange
(sarf) unless the specie is physically present there. You cannot use
the claim of gold or food stored with a treasurer. The items exchanged
have to be present.
This
matter rules out any possibility of using paper notes representing gold
or silver to buy physical gold or silver. In addition, the exchange of
paper notes with other paper notes is prohibited because it is
Debt-for-Debt.
This prohibition of using promissory notes in an exchange is further reinforced by the following words:
Yahya
related to me from Malik that he had heard that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad
said, “‘Umar ibn al-Khattab said, ‘A dinar for a dinar, and a dirham for
a dirham, and a sa’ for a sa’. Something to be collected later is not
to be sold for something at hand.’”
Yahya
related to me from Malik that Abu’z-Zinad heard Sa’id al Musayyab say,
“There is usury only in gold or silver or what is weighed and measured
of what is eaten and drunk.”
All
this clearly indicates that not only gold and silver but also any food
that could be used as payment is included in the prohibition, that is to
say, the prohibition extends to any form of ‘common money’. Any note
that represents any form of ‘common money’ cannot be used in an
exchange. With that restriction in mind, it means that a banking note
cannot really be used as money, but only as a private contract—which is
the basis of our argument.
But
what about a note held by a Muslim treasurer and guaranteed: can it be
used in a transaction other than an exchange? Can it be used, for
example, to buy other goods in the market?
“Yahya
related to me from Malik that he had heard that receipts (sukukun) were
given to people in the time of Marwan ibn al-Hakam for the produce of
the market of al-Jar. People bought and sold the receipts among
themselves before they took delivery of the goods. Zayd ibn Thabit and
one of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, went to Marwan ibn Hakam and said, “Marwan! Do you
make usury halal?” He said, “I seek refuge with Allah! What is that?” He
said, “These receipts which people buy and sell before they take
delivery of the goods.” Marwan therefore sent guards to follow them and
take them from people’s hands and return them to their owners.”
This
means that you cannot use a promissory note and use it for trading as if
it were money. The purpose of the promissory note is not to be money,
but to be a private contract that must remain private and not public.
So,
what is the use of the promissory note? What is the halal usage of it?
It is halal to have a contract or a debt, and it is also halal to
transfer that debt, provided that the person who issued it is accessible
and can guarantee the payment of the debt by signing a new contract
(promissory note) with the new recipient. If the guarantor is not a
Muslim, then in addition to what we have said, he also has to have his
amana within Muslim territory and under the overall supervision of an
enforcing Muslim authority.
2.
The second stage refers to the process of those years in which paper
money was constantly devalued from its initial obligation (they paid
less than they had promised), up until the debt was finally completely
revoked (they withdrew their obligation). This final elimination of the
obligation took place with the dollar in 1973, when Nixon unilaterally
revoked the obligation of paying one ounce of gold for every 35 dollars.
What
is the Islamic position regarding a promissory note when one of the
parties unilaterally revokes its obligation, whether it is complete or
partial? That is to say, what is the Islamic ruling when a debt is
unilaterally revoked or devalued?
It is
not acceptable. It is a violation of the contract. If this is done with
premeditation and no responsibility is accepted, it amounts to pure
theft. Theft is punishable in Islam.
To
use the note to transfer it to other people, falls under all the
restrictions that we have expressed before, with an added element. You
are dealing with the promissory note of a known thief who does not admit
his guilt or past obligations.
3.
Finally we arrive at the money which we have today. There is no promise
of payment in specie of any kind. It only has a legal value based on the
obligation of the citizens of the country to accept the national
currency as a means to redeem debts. This is the ‘Law of Legal Tender’.
It gives the State the unique ability to confiscate anyone’s wealth
within the nation and to pay for it in compensation with its own legal
note.
Is this an acceptable means of payment in Islam?
Imam Malik said money is “any merchandise commonly accepted as a medium of exchange.” This implies two things:
A)
Money has to be a merchandise. Therefore it could be paper. But paper
only for the value of the paper itself, not for what is written on it.
Money must be something tangible (‘ayn). Money cannot be a liability of
any kind.
B)
Money must be commonly accepted. Therefore it cannot be imposed. No-one
can say it is obligatory on you. No-one can even make the Gold Dinar
obligatory on the people. The Gold Dinar and the Silver Dirham become a
currency out of free choice, not as the result of decree. Paper money is
imposed on people. This obligation is not accepted in Islam for two
further reasons:
—The fraudulent nature of the offer: they oblige you to accept something above its value (its real value is zero).
—The obligation of the offer: you are obliged to accept it whether you like it or not.
This
unlawful behaviour is further reinforced by the application of State
laws that restrict the use of any other merchandise as a means of
payment, thus enforcing the State monopoly on the currency, particularly
in regard to gold and silver. Gold and silver are either taxed, or
their use is regulated and sometimes disallowed. In some extreme cases
we have seen gold confiscated by law from the private citizens, as has
been the case in the USA.
Final conclusion
Paper
money is not valid money in Islamic Law, whether in its present form or
in any of the forms in which it has existed in the past. The Shari‘ah
money is the Gold Dinar and the Silver Dirham. Any merchandise commonly
accepted as a medium of exchange is also accepted as a valid money in
Islam.
