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Quote by Leland Lewis

“What is the difference between Zen and Tao? Roshi - "Look at this perfect peach. This must be Zen." Sensei - "If so, then see this wondrous tree here who gave us our peach, it is the Tao." Roshi - "Then look to the Earth from where the tree emerges. that is Zen. Sensei - "Then look to the sky whose wind blows through the leaves and whose clouds bring it the water of life." it is the Tao. Roshi - "Then look to the silent witnessing stars spanning through infinity they are so very Zen" Sensei ~ "Yet look at the space between all these stars, that must be the Tao." Then they smiled broadly and laughed hysterically "look at our many words they are like the dead leaves of this tree. What a bonfire we can now make.”

Quote by Leland Lewis

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“Enlightenment depends to a large extent on believing that you are born for Freedom in this lifetime, and that it is available now, in this moment. The mind, which creates the past and future, keeps you out of the moment where the Truth of your Being can be discovered. In this moment, there is always Freedom and there is always peace. This moment in which you experience Stillness is every moment. Don‘t let the mind seduce you into the past or future. Stay in the moment, and dare to consider that you can be free now. (p. 8)”

“In order to find what the concept of God is pointing to, you must let go of your image of God and every concept you have about God. You must dare to be void of all concepts and enter into perfect Emptiness, perfect stillness, and perfect silence. You must forget everything you have ever learned about God. It won‘t help you. It may comfort you, but such comfort is imaginary; it is an illusion. Let go of all the false comforts of the mind. Let them all come to an end. The end must be experienced full yin Stillness. When you let all images, all concepts, all hopes, and all beliefs end, Stillness is experienced. Experience the core of Stillness. Dive into it and surrender fully. In full surrender to Stillness, you directly experience That to which the concept of God points. In that direct experience, you awaken from the dream of the mind and realize that the concept of God points to who you truly are. (p. 20-21)”

“The human being is what links consciousness to its own infinite expressions in form. Through the form of an awake human being, consciousness becomes conscious of itself as both formlessness and as all forms. This is why, to the true sage, everything is divine, whole, and complete. Everything is God, the Self. (p. 71)”

“This (liberation) isn't something I can help you with. I can tell you what you need to do, but you have to do it. In the beginning, teachers can help a lot. But the deeper you go, all they can do is point, and clarify, and tell you what you need to do. Only you can take this step. Nobody can push you into this place. It's like Buddha's final night under the Bodhi tree. What did he do when confronted with this? He reached down and touched the ground and said, „I will not be moved.“ Finally – when everything that could be thrown at him was thrown, and he was still unmoved – it was done. He never looked back. (p. 99)”

“If we practice hard, concentrate on zazen, and organize our life so that we can sit well, we will find out what we are doing. But you have to be careful in the rules and way you establish. If it is too strict you will fail, if it is too loose, the rules will not work. Our way should be strict enough to have authority, an authority everyone should obey. Thu rules should be possible to observe. This is how Zen tradition was built up, decided little by little, created by us in our practice. We cannot force anything. But once the rules have been decided, we should obey them completely until they are changed. It is not a matter of good or bad, convenient or inconvenient. You just do it without question. That way your mind is free.”