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Quote by Peter Matthiessen

“In zazen, one is one's present self, what one was, and what one will be, all at once.”

Quote by Peter Matthiessen

Book:Nine-Headed Dragon River: Zen Journals 1969-1982

Work

Nine-Headed Dragon River: Zen Journals 1969-1982

This book is a compilation of the author's spiritual musings and experiences, recorded during a significant period of his life. It offers a glimpse into the author's journey of self-discovery and enlightenment through the lens of Zen Buddhism. more

Author

Peter Matthiessen

Peter Matthiessen was an American novelist and naturalist, renowned for his works that seamlessly integrate fiction and non-fiction. His writing frequently delved into environmental themes and the human connection with nature. Born on May 22, 1927, he passed away on April 5, 2014. more

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“Intelligence is silence, truth is being invisible. But what a racket I make in declaring this.”

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“Wonder of wonders! Intrinsically all living beings are Buddhas, endowed with wisdom and virtue, but because men's minds have become inverted through delusive thinking they fail to perceive this.”

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“It was a morning in early summer. A silver haze shimmered and trembled over the lime trees. The air was laden with their fragrance. The temperature was like a caress. I remember - I need not recall - that I climbed up a tree stump and felt suddenly immersed in Itness. I did not call it by that name. I had no need for words. It and I were one.”

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“Essentially Satori is a sudden experience, and it is often described as a "turning over" of the mind, just as a pair of scales will suddenly turn over when a sufficient amount of material has been poured into one pan to overbalance the weight in the other. Hence it is an experience which generally occurs after a long and concentrated effort to discover the meaning of Zen.”

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“I entered (into my inward self) and beheld with the eye of my soul...the Light Unchangeable.”

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“This moment, this being, is the thing. My life is all life in little. The moon, the planets, pass around my heart. The sun, now hidden by the round bulk of this earth, shines into me, and in me as well. The gods and the angels both good and bad are like the hairs of my own head, seemingly numberless, and growing from within. I people the cosmos from myself, it seems, yet what am I? A puff of dust, or a brief coughing spell, with emptiness and silence to follow.”

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