Zen Quotes

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Sometimes the appropriate response to reality is to go insane. ~ Philip K. Dick

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[Francis]

"Do not advocate forcible reforms;  wait patiently in the conviction that there is room in the world for the old and the new, that the old will disappear when it is time, and the new does not appear ready-made but grows out of the seeds of the old."
~ Herrigel

"Wu Wei is being content with what you are, with who you are and with what you have now. It’s knowing that abundance and experience and relationships of real worth come only when and if you’re settled. When you’re balanced the universe provides. But Wu Wei is the act of not pushing, not forcing.

Be the silent controlled person that’s moving relentlessly toward freedom and away from restriction – toward your goals one step at a time, in an organized, patient way."
~ Stuart Wilde

"The more a human being feels himself a self, tries to intensify this self and reach a never attainable perfection, the more drastically he steps out of his center of being, which is no longer now his own center, and the further he removes himself from it.

Everything that exists, apart from man – animals and plants, stones, earth, air, fire, water- lives undemandingly from the center of being, without having left it or being able to leave it. If man, having strayed from this center, is to know security and innocence of existence as they live it, because ultimately they live without purpose, there is no alternative for him but a radical reversal. He must go back along the way whose thousand tribulations have shown it to be a way of error, must slough off everything promised to bring him to himself, renounce the life lived on his own resources and return home to the “house of truth” which he wantonly left in order to chase phantoms when he was scarcely fledged."
~ Eugene Herrigel

"If you want to be free, learn to live simply. Use what you have and be content where you are. Quit trying to solve your problems by moving to another place, by changing mates or careers.

Leave your car in the garage. If you have a gun, put it away. Sell that complex computer and go back to using pencil and paper. Rather than read every new book that comes along, reread the classics. Eat food grown locally. Wear simple, durable clothes. Keep a small home uncluttered and easy to clean. Keep an open calendar with periods of uncommitted time. Have a spiritual practice and let family customs grow.

Of course, the world is full of novelty and adventures. New opportunities come along every day.

So what?"
~ John Heider

[Francis]

Zen practice seeks to subvert conceptual thought, since concepts and rational thinking are considered a barrier to authentic experience. Zen rejects the transcendent (what is above) in favor of the immanent (what is within).  Concepts rely on impressions and reflections which have little of the original feisty life force left in them, as the moon is a pale reflection of the sun. So the Zen initiate seeks to bring his consciousness down to earth. After all, from 10,000 feet, even the biggest city appears almost lifeless and sterile. Transmitted energy versus reflected energy, primary experience versus secondary experience; Zen teaches us to know the difference and the value of each.

“In the original Zen school an authentic meeting was not a matter of climbing into a high pulpit and setting out verbal points. Why? This is why it is said that when verbal points miss, home’s 10,000 miles away.

You simply have to let go over a cliff, willingly accept the experience and revive after annihilation. It will be impossible to deceive you. ” ~Hui-lin

“Those who get it produce lotuses in scarlet flames. Those who lose it grasp at reflections in aquamarine pools.” ~Fu-jung

[Daniel]

Man stands in his own shadow and wonders why it is dark
-Zen Proverb

[Francis]

Thanks Daniel.



The purpose of a fishtrap is to catch fish, and when the fish are caught, the trap is forgotten. The purpose of a rabbit snare is to catch rabbits. When the rabbits are caught, the snare is forgotten. The purpose of words is to convey ideas. When the ideas are grasped, the words are forgotten. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words? He is the one I would like to talk to. ~ Chuang-Tsu

When you get the message, hang up the phone. ~ Tim Leary

I never thought that the Bible had much in common with Zen. But the story about Adam and Eve eating from the Tree of Knowledge and being cursed for doing so is similar to the Zen idea that words and concepts lead away from the spiritual goal, instead of toward it. The difference being that in the Bible, the curse is an irrevocable contract, whereas in Zen there is a practical way to get back on track (i.e. mushin). 

“Self conscious thinking gets in the way of being and doing. Thought- ideas, conceptions- aren’t the same as actual existence. Thinking makes misleading distinctions in the flow of reality. It superimposes an extra, unnecessary layer on top of whatever is going on. When your mind does not get in the way, you can act more simply, more naturally and with greater effectiveness” ~ Jay Stevenson

[jimtzu]

The goal of life

is to make your heartbeat

match the beat of the Universe,

to match your nature with Nature.



J. Campbell

[Francis]

Do you want to be a positive influence in the world?

First, get your own life in order. Ground yourself in the single principle so that your behaviour is wholesome and effective. If you do that, you will earn respect and be a powerful influence.

Your behaviour influences others through a ripple effect. A ripple effect works because everyone influences everyone else. Powerful people are powerful influences.

If your life works, you influence your family.
If your family works, your family influences the community.
If your community works, your community influences the nation.
If your nation works, your nation influences the world.
If your world works, the ripple effect spreads throughout the cosmos.

Remember that your influence begins with you and ripples outward. So be sure that your influence is both potent and wholesome.

How do I know that this works?

All growth spreads outward from a fertile and potent nucleus. You are a nucleus. ~ John Heider

[henry]

fun for henry to see the most recent "zen quotes" from two fine former esalen luminaries . John Heider now lives in Lawrence Kansas close to Jimtzu