Verse 1

trans. Nyogen Senzaki and Ruth Strout McCandless from Buddhism and Zen

There is the leisurely one,
Walking the Tao, beyond philosophy,
Not avoiding fantasy, not seeking truth.
The real nature of ignorance is the Buddha-nature itself;
The empty delusory body is the very body of the Dharma.

trans. Robert Aitken from Diamond Sangha Sutra Book

Don’t you see that leisurely one of the Tao
Who is beyond learning and does not strive?
S/he neither avoids idle thoughts nor seeks after the truth.
For S/he knows that the real nature of ignorance
Is the essential nature itself.

Nyogen’s Comment

If you try to avoid idle thoughts or delusions when you meditate, you cannot enter Samadhi. Whoever seeks after the truth will remain behind the truth. What you consider idle thoughts or delusions are nothing but waves on the vast ocean of Buddha-nature. Just as there are no waves apart from the water, there is no delusion, no idle thought, no ignorance separate from Buddha-nature.

Hakuin Zenji echoes this insight many kalpas later.  Included in his lyrics to the Song of Zazen were lines like these:  How sad that people ignore the near and search for truth afar  . . .  No ice without water  . . .  Without beings, no buddha.

trans. Robert Aitken from Diamond Sangha Sutra Book