Quotes from Kenneth S. Leong

O]ur existential anxiety originates not from the objective state of reality but from our inflated expectations. The main problem is the discrepancy between our belief that we can handle everything by ourselves and the fact that, as mortals, we have several limitations. Unaware of this, we try to do the impossible: to control the uncontrollable, to predict the unpredictable, to hold on to the impermanent, and to secure the unsecurable. This illusion of omnipotence becomes our torture.

While "religious" people treat fuzziness as a liability, Zen people treat it as an asset. For this fuzziness of nature, combined with the creativity innate in the human mind, translates into opportunities for our liberation. If the world is indeterminate, then we can use our creativity to interpret it in a way that fosters inner peace and enables spiritual growth.

We cannot arrive at the original "I" through rational thought! The Self has to remain forever fuzzy. Indeed, it is the Subject that cannot be observed, the Name that cannot be named, the Word than cannot be spoken, It is the Silence that cannot be comprehended by the rational mind.

For no matter what our religion, culture, or belief is, we always have a common reference point: the Self, who is the ultimate observer. The Self is the Way!

The presence of multiple interpretations is never a problem; it is simply a manifestation of the diversity of life. It is only when we try to enforce uniformity in interpretation that acts of violence, human suffering, and the deadening of the soul begin.

For most people, truth is closely associated with with solidity, finality, permanence, universality, and security. But Jesus used the metaphor of "living water" for truth. [...] While we tend to visualize truth as some kind of sacred rock, Jesus visualized it as water: amorphous, adaptable, and incapable of being grasped.

When was the last time you noticed the beauty of a cool breeze or the wonder of a starry sky or the vibrancy of a wild flower on the roadside? I used to have the ability to instantly appreciate the beauty of all these when I was a child, but by the time I was twenty it was almost lost. (It took a lot of Zen practice for me to regain it.) The world has not changed that much; there are still summer breezes, night skies, and wild flowers. But where has the perception gone?

When you can do nothing, what can you do? [...] This is the most amazing, yet most obvious and logical answer: that in the certainty of death, one should get as much out of life as possible. Paradoxically it is the absence of choice in this matter that allows us to have more inner freedom.

Ultimately, each of us will have to determine for ourselves who Jesus is and what he represents. For me, he is an artist of life, and what he teaches is the fine art of living. Perhaps this is my bias; perhaps it is not.

Death is treated like a taboo in our culture, and all medical efforts are directed toward fighting this law of nature. But perhaps there is a beautiful side of death. [...] Perhaps death is God's wabi-sabi.

Zen is a transcultural and trans-religious phenomenon. No matter where you are, you can always find it. Zen is in you.

True spirituality begins with relaxation.

Real renunciation is not self-deprivation or asceticism. If it were, many masochists would qualify as spiritual people. True spirituality is an affirmation of life and not a negation of it. The main point is to have equal love for all.

What most people refer to as "Seriousness" is actually a sign of the ego. Most of us are "serious" because we are too self-obsessed - obsessed by our self-importance and our own notions of what is good, what is right, what is true, etc.

A]ll beings in the universe are interdependent. Thus, the love of God means the love of All There Is. The one who loves God is the one who adopts a loving attitude to all things in life, for all are intimately connected and do not exist apart from one another. Therefore, the second greatest commandment is simply a derivative of the first one. Our love for others is due to our recognition that each one of them is also an integral part of God, inseparable from Ultimate Reality.

D.T. Suzuki notes that "when Zen wants you to taste the sweetness of sugar, it will put the required article right into your mouth and no further words are said." In this sense, Zen is direct and not intermediated, concrete and not abstract, practical and not theoretical, sensual and not intellectual, down-to-earth and not otherworldly.

Just as a biologist cannot find life by dissecting it, an artist cannot find beauty by analyzing it.

We have been conditioned to treat rationality as sacred. But life itself is, in a very deep sense, absurd. It will not render itself to the tyranny of reason. Even the most wise cannot help but be flabbergasted by a three-year-old who keeps asking why. If you are not convinced, try asking yourself what is the reason for living. Life is basically a mystery that is not meant to be solved by our intellect. It cannot be "known" through the brain but through the heart.

A scientist may be able to measure coolness in terms of the temperature on registered on a thermometer; but no matter how accurate that measurement is, it still cannot capture the delight of a summer breeze.

More than anything else, Zen represents a soulful approach to life in which one remains completely vulnerable and open to life, without God as a security blanket. There is no attempt to eliminate the basic insecurity or unpredictability of life or to solve the mysteries of existence.

Life is overcome, not by finding a strong ally (God), but through the soul's ability to develop a fresh perspective that enables the transformation of harsh realities into songs.

In a nutshell, Zen is a poetization of life and a vivid expression of the human soul, albeit without the formality, rigidity, and superficiality associated with organized religions.

Why are we so unhappy despite our material affluence? [...] [T]he modern world has lost the art of "ordinary magic" - the art of transforming our ordinary, mundane, and perhaps humdrum existence into a life of beauty and joy.

The Zen experience is what happens when you lose yourself in the moment. It feels as if the whole world stops, and you have a supreme sense of harmony and peace. But in fact, what actually stops is your ego-process. When the ego-process stops, so stop your expectations, desires, worries, and anxiety. Then you find yourself living in the present, overtaken by joy and filled with peace.