“Wherever we go, we are our own companion. And that is why we must try to be a good friend to ourselves and treat ourselves with gentleness. After all, we are the one we spend the most time with.”
Source: The Cat Who Taught Zen: A Beautifully Illustrated Exploration of Self-Discovery
“Some critic called me the Nothingness Himself and that didn't help my sense of existence any. Then I realized that existence itself is nothing and I felt better. But I'm still obsessed with the mirror and seeing no-one, nothing.
When I look at things, I always see the space they occupy. I always want the space to reappear, to make a comeback, because it's lost space when there's something in it. If I see a chair in a beautiful space, no matter how beautiful the chair is, it can never be as beautiful to me as the plain space.”
Source: The Philosophy of Andy Warhol
“Only the summit can illuminate its own insignificance.”
Source: The Color of Everything: A Journey to Quiet the Chaos Within
“You trust that you contain the whole cosmos; you are made of stars. And that is why you respect yourself and offer reverence to yourself. And, when you look at another person, you see that they are also made of stars. They are a wonderful manifestation. They don't appear only for a hundred years: they carry eternity within them.”
Source: Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet
“Watching the rain
satisfies a deep yearning
akin to the parched finding water”
“beneath the rosy sky
veiled in mist
the blooming meadow”
“I wish for you not to go anywhere without me. In this world and the next. I wish for you to choose me. A pause, and softer. “That is, if you would wish it.”
“Don't worry, Sachiko,' I said with glib assurance, not even really persuading myself. 'Worry doesn't help; it only clouds or distorts. If you can solve a problem, there's no need to worry; and if you can't, there's nothing gained by worry. Just stay calm, and there's nothing you can't do.”
Source: The Lady and the Monk: Four Seasons in Kyoto
“To say that color is waves of light and nothing more is pointless. Existence produces its own beauty for itself, and appreciates it by itself.”
Source: ZA ZEN
“Zen is to eat, breathe, cook, carry water, and scrub the toilet, to infuse every act of body, speech, and mind with mindfulness, to illuminate every leaf and pebble, every heap of garbage, every path that leads to our mind’s return home. Only a person who has grasped the art of cooking, washing dishes, sweeping, and chopping wood, someone who is able to laugh at the world’s weapons of money, fame, and power, can hope to descend the mountain as a hero.”
Source: Fragrant Palm Leaves: Journals, 1962-1966