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Zen Quotes

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Zen Quotes

“We have been taught that there is no gap between nighttime and daytime, no gap between you and I. This means oneness. But we do not emphasize even oneness. If it is one, there is no need to emphasize one. Suzuki, Shunryu. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (pp. 108-109). Shambhala. Kindle Edition.”

BuddhismUnityZenOnenessNondualityShunryu Suzuki
Book:Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice
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“From ancient times in both East and West, man's mind has been likened to a mirror. When something comes in front of it, it is reflected, but when the thing goes away, its image disappears without leaving a trace. Even though the mirror may reflect something dirty, it is not soiled. The mind is the same. If it is not enslaved to anything, it will reflect a thing exactly, but when the thing leaves, its form will not remain. The self is restored to a clean slate and returns to an absolutely new beginning, prepared to reflect accurately all things at any time.”

Zen
Book:Zen and the Bible
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“Many of us have hearts that are encrusted with anxieties, fears, aversions, sorrows, and an array of defensive armor. The non-reactive and accepting awareness of mindfulness will help to dissolve these crusts. The practice has a cyclic quality; it is self-reinforcing. At first, the practice will allow us to let go of a small amount of defensiveness. That release allows a corresponding amount of openness and tender- heartedness to show itself. This process encourages us to drop even more armor. Slowly, a greater sense of heartfeltness supports the further development of mindfulness. As our neurotic thought patterns drop away, layers of judgment and resistance atrophy, and the need to define our selves through hard-held identities relaxes. As this happens, the natural goodness of the heart shines by itself. The impulses to be aware, happy, compassionate, and free, all come from the goodness of our hearts. As we connect to these intentions and allow them to motivate our mindfulness practice, the practice becomes heartfelt.”

LifeInspirationalHealingCompassionBuddhismSelf LoveMindfulnessZenWell Being
Book:The Issue at Hand: Essays on Buddhist Mindfulness Practice
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“Time is not static; it is an ever-flowing river - ongoing and changing yet holding its own integrity. Can you understand the integrity of a drop of rain in the river? It mixes and blends, yet it is always itself - or is it? If it is part of the whole , can that drop be accessed in any part of the river? We want to stretch your imagination so that you understand the hologram where the whole can be stored in a part. Imagine a creature, a being so intelligent, alive, and intense that it is everywhere at once. Its essence is pure and responds to every aspect of itself. This is a creature that curiosity and malleability, unique characteristics that allow it to be molded and to mold as well. And you must learn to dance with this energy.”

InspirationalConsciousnessAwarenessMindfulnessZenQuantum
Book:Family of Light: Pleiadian Tales and Lessons in Living
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“Your task is to vibrate with love to the best of your ability. Love your friends and love yourself, be nurturing and harmonious, and be at peace. This in itself is a great feat, one most of your ancestors never quite semed to achieve. However some of them did pass the test, creating what you would call Utopia. Where does Utopia dwell? Could Utopia dwell in the time line of Earth that you know? Is it possible to build a Utopia? Or would it simply arise of its own nature because of a natural tendency to rise to a higher frequency?”

InspirationalConsciousnessAwarenessZenHigher ConsciousnessZen BuddhismThe Nature Of RealityHigher Perspective
Book:Family of Light: Pleiadian Tales and Lessons in Living
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“Like avoidance, indulgence is also a form of escape. The objects of indulgence, be they drugs, alcohol, or sex, are simply used as painkillers. Experienced healers know that the real problem often does not lie in the drug or whatever object an addict is addicted to. For most addicts, the problem existed long before they started taking their drug of choice. Experienced healers also realize that getting rid of the drug does not get rid of the problem. In fact, it is critical to address the real problem at the time the drug is removed. More often than not, the drug-taking behavior is a symptom for a deep-seated unwillingness to face life as it is, i.e., a lack of gentleness. Thus, forced abstinence, without treating the root of the problem, may do more harm than good.”

Zen
Book:The Zen Teachings of Jesus
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“When we find the dark side of life too much to take, when we feel an urge to fight or escape from it all, perhaps we should visualize a lotus flower, the timeless Buddhist symbol for purity. While the lotus itself is clean and beautiful, it is nevertheless rooted in dirty, stinking mud. Unsightly as the mud may be, it provides the necessary nutrients for the lotus flower. Should the flower be disconnected from the mud, it cannot continue to live. Perhaps we should think of our greed, anger, and lust in the same way: they provide the necessary food for our soul.”

Zen
Book:The Zen Teachings of Jesus
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“In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus asked us to turn to nature as our teacher. Nature does not make any distinction in its treatment of the good and the evil, nor does it discriminate between the just and the unjust. To treat all things and all people as equal is the way of nature. Jesus said that our love of others should also be like that. True love is indiscriminate. In this light, the instruction to "love your enemies" and to "pray for those who persecute you" is more a reflection of this nondiscriminatory mentality than an intention to go overboard.”

Zen
Book:The Zen Teachings of Jesus
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“[A]ll beings in the universe are interdependent. Thus, the love of God means the love of All There Is. The one who loves God is the one who adopts a loving attitude to all things in life, for all are intimately connected and do not exist apart from one another. Therefore, the second greatest commandment is simply a derivative of the first one. Our love for others is due to our recognition that each one of them is also an integral part of God, inseparable from Ultimate Reality.”

Zen
Book:The Zen Teachings of Jesus
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“Many people have completely missed out on the joy, humor, and profundity of Jesus' teachings because they keep holding on to the first interpretation they were taught back in Sunday school. In a way, they are like butterflies that are too afraid to come out of their cocoons or grown-ups who will not let go of their childhood clothes. By refusing to let their understanding grow with their personal experience, they are ensuring that the scriptures remain as a dull document progressively fading into oblivion rather than metamorphosing into the living words of God.”

Zen
Book:The Zen Teachings of Jesus
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“Spiritual truth has more to do with meaning than with facticity, and meaning is a function of personal experience. If we reread the fairy tales that were told to us as children, it is very likely that we will discover a wealth of new meanings. But these meanings could not have been made available to us when we were children because we simply did not have the maturity then to understand them. In a sense, there is not just one Bible but millions of them. For each of us is effectively reading a personalized version of the Bible, even if we all try hard to be "objective" in our reading. Subjectivity in interpretation is built-in - for we read what we are.”

Zen
Book:The Zen Teachings of Jesus
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“To detach from your character, you should first know it fully -the dark side as well as bright side. It doesn’t mean that you should try everything in the world. To know itself, a tree doesn’t need to get hit by an axe at every inch of its being. The air around it can make it feel how far its branches go. When you are in a position to do something and do it, you only get to know one side of you. When you don’t do it, you get to know two sides of you -the one that wanted to do it and the other that didn’t.”

SpiritualityPsychologyBuddhismZenDetachmentDark SideNo Thought
Author:Shunya
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