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Quote by Natalie Goldberg

Work

The Great Failure: A Bartender, A Monk, and My Unlikely Path to Truth

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Author

Natalie Goldberg
Natalie Goldberg

Natalie Goldberg is an American author recognized for her work at the intersection of Zen Buddhism and creative writing. Born in 1948, she has authored several books that delve into the fusion of mindfulness and writing, with 'Writing Down the Bones' being particularly influential. more

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“We can create some information about Buffalo, milk and its nutritional values. We can exchange that information with each other for money, appreciation etc. A monk living alone in jungle doesn't know words such as Buffalo, milk or nutrition. He just wonders, "Green grass enters into this big black thing and a white liquid comes out of it. How!" He can't exchange this wonder with anyone but it transports him to eternity.”

WisdomSpiritualityWonderBuddhismEternityZenNo Thought
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“We don't usually see that there's a third possible logical term equal to yes and no, which is capable of explaining our understanding in an unrecognized direction. We don't even have a term for it, so I'll have to use the Japanese "Mu." Mu means no thing, like quality, it points outside the process of dualistic discrimination. Mu simply says, no class, not one, not zero, not yes, not no. It states that the context of the question is such that a yes or no answer is an error and should not be given. Un-ask the question is what it says. Mu becomes appropriate when the context of the question becomes too small for the truth of the answer.”

PhilosophyZenBuddha NatureNo ThingBinary ThinkingMu
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