Quotes About Zen

Zen Master Dogen said that to transmit Dharma means to transmit zazen.

it goes without saying that since time immemorial it has been forbidden to practice Zen as a means of accomplishing some purpose or other, for Zen should be without purposes and without acquisitions.

The Zen idioms, such as the "oneness of discipline and proof " and "true proof and wondrous discipline," directly express the above-mentioned point of Zen. The cause—namely discipline itself—contains the effect, the proof. And, in proof is found discipline. It is said that proof is not the destination to be reached by means of discipline.

When we refer to the classic text Zazen-gi regarding the method of sitting, we find the following written about the essential technique of zazen, "Once the posture has been stabilized and the breath regulated, push forth the lower abdomen; one thinks not of good or evil.

Master Harada Sogaku writes, "For beginners it is adequate to sit for about thirty minutes at a time.

When people with only a shallow experience define Zen simply as a way to promote health or a way for human development, it is an embarrassment for Zen even though Zen has these aspects.

Kinhin means walking in the Zen hall after sitting in Zen meditation for some time. We walk meditatively with our hands held against our chests. The closed right hand held lightly against the chest is covered with the left hand, and both of the arms are held up horizontally.

But when we break through that delusion, the illusion caused by selfish desires and doubt, and come into contact with the Absolute for a fraction of a second, we realize our original True Self. This experience is called satori or kensho.12 In short, this is awakening to one's True Self. It may be said that the aim of Zen is to have that kind of experience.

SAMADHI AND ATTACHMENT There is a question which must be taken into consideration now. That is, whether living unconsciously in "no-self" from morning to night is in accord with the principle of Zen or not.

On one hand, kinhin is a kind of exercise to ease our fatigue after sitting, and on the other, it is training to bring about the oneness of movement and calmness.

We are apt to instantaneously come out of samadhi as soon as we are on our feet for a few moments. This is because we are lacking in the full power of Zen concentration. By getting to our feet and walking in kinhin while we are one with susoku or koan, we discipline ourselves to realize the oneness of tranquility and movement so that we may not be controlled and upset by our environment in our everyday life.

True "no-thought, no-mind" zazen is just one thing—to have a dauntless mind.

In the distinguished book Zazen no Shokei by the lay Zen Master Kawajiri Hogin, he writes, "Because zazen is training to realize the One Mind of yourself, it is a mistake to set up an aim outside of yourself … Not setting up an aim is the true aim.

This teaching of O Yomei reminds me of "Kyosho Dofu (Ching-ch'ing Tao-fu) and the voice of rain drops" as told in Article 46 of the Hekigan Roku (Pi-yen Lu).

Further, you should see whether or not self and other—that is, self and strangers, self and family, self and society—are unified in the place called "here." In this place Self and object fuse and become one body in an experience known in Zen as "the boundless realm of time and space where not even the width of a hair separates self and other.

Zen lives in the present. The Whole teaching is: how to be in the present; how to get out of the past which is no more and how not to get involved in the future which is not yet, and just to be rooted, centered, in that which is.

For Zen, man is the goal; man is the end unto himself. God is not something above humanity, God is something hidden within humanity. Man is carrying God in himself as a potentiality.

One has to reach to the absolute state of awareness: that is Zen. You cannot do it every morning for a few minutes or for half an hour and then forget all about it. It has to become like your heartbeat. You have to sit in it, you have to walk in it. Yes, you have even to sleep in it.

Zen says everything is divine so how can anything be special? All is special. Nothing is non-special so nothing can be special.

Zen is not a philosophy, it is poetry. It does not propose, it simply persuades. It does not argue, it simply sings its own song.

Zen martini: A martini with no vermouth at all. And no gin, either.

The Chatham's lobby décor was modern, serene, and understated—dignified hipster meets Tibetan monk—but the heavy police presence outside the sparkling glass doors was ruining the carefully curated Zen atmosphere. Even the potted orchids looked stressed out.

The French don't valorize a pregnant woman's anxiety. Instead, in the word cloud of French pregnancy, terms like serenity, balance, and Zen keep popping up. Mothers-to-be are supposed to signal their competence by showing how calm they are and by making it clear that they still experience pleasure. This small shift in emphasis makes a big difference.

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