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A Mother's Advice


Jiun, a Shogun master, was a well-known Sanskrit scholar of the Tokugawa era.

When he was young he used to deliver lectures to his brother students.

His mother heard about his lifestyle and wrote him a letter:

“Son, I do not think you became a devotee of the Buddha because you desired to turn into a walking dictionary for others. There is no end to information and commentating, glory and honor. I wish you would stop this lecture business. Shut yourself up in a little temple in a remote part of the mountain. Devote your time to meditation and in this way attain true realization.”

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