Experience this

"Experience this moment to its fullest." – Zen Proverb

Find the truth

"If you are unable to find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?" – Dōgen

Truth is silence

"When you have realized understanding, even one word is too much." – Zen Proverb

Why it's dark

"Man stands in his own shadow and wonders why it's dark." – Zen Proverb

The truth

"The truth knocks on the door and you say, "Go away, I'm looking for the truth," and so it goes away. Puzzling." – Robert M. Pirsig

Wiser man

"It takes a wise man to learn from his mistakes, but an even wiser man to learn from others." – Zen Proverb

Others

"A fool sees himself as another, but a wise man sees others as himself." – Dōgen

One with everything

"Wherever you are, you are one with the clouds and one with the sun and the stars you see. You are one with everything. That is more true than I can say, and more true than you can hear." ― Shunryu Suzuki

The most precious gift

The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention. —Thich Nhat Hanh

How do I know that I don’t need what I want?

How do I know that I don’t need what I want?
I don’t have it.
What is, is.
You don’t get a vote.
Haven’t you noticed?
Reality is always kinder than the story we tell about it.
- Byron Katie

Reality is always kinder

“Reality is always kinder than the stories we tell about it.”
~Byron Katie

Practice good

Just practice good, do good for others, without thinking of making yourself known so that you may gain reward. Really bring benefit to others, gaining nothing for yourself. This is the primary requisite for breaking free of attachments. – Dogen Zenji

See all living beings as...

"See all living beings as your father or mother, and love them as if you were their child." ~Atiśa Dīpa kara Śrījñāna

Zen is... (quote)

"Zen is to have the heart and soul of a little child." – Takuan Sōhō

A wonderful Zen practice

"Let me give you a wonderful Zen practice. Wake up in the morning...look in the mirror, and laugh at yourself." – Bernie Glassman, The Dude and the Zen Master

(In)finite

"The infinite is in the finite of every instant." — Zen Proverb

Having enough

If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich. ~Lao Tzu

External circumstances

Peace can be found within, no matter the external circumstances. ~Allan Lokos

True calmness

It is easy to have calmness in inactivity, it is hard to have calmness in activity, but calmness in activity is true calmness. – Shunryu Suzuki

Nothing we see or hear is...

"Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection is perfect reality." ― Shunryu Suzuki

What Is Is

The only time we suffer is when we believe a thought that argues with what is. When the mind is perfectly clear, what is is what we want. If you want reality to be different than it is, you might as well try to teach a cat to bark. You can try and try, and in the end the cat will look up at you and say, “Meow.” Wanting reality to be different than it is is hopeless.

And yet, if you pay attention, you’ll notice that you think thoughts like this dozens of times a day. “People should be kinder.” “Children should be well-behaved.” “My husband (or wife) should agree with me.” “I should be thinner (or prettier or more successful).” These thoughts are ways of wanting reality to be different than it is. If you think that this sounds depressing, you’re right. All the stress that we feel is caused by arguing with what is.

People new to The Work often say to me, “But it would be disempowering to stop my argument with reality. If I simply accept reality, I’ll become passive. I may even lose the desire to act.” I answer them with a question: “Can you really know that that’s true?” Which is more empowering? — “I wish I hadn’t lost my job” or “I lost my job; what can I do now?”
The Work reveals that what you think shouldn’t have happened should have happened. It should have happened because it did, and no thinking in the world can change it. This doesn’t mean that you condone it or approve of it. It just means that you can see things without resistance and without the confusion of your inner struggle. No one wants their children to get sick, no one wants to be in a car accident; but when these things happen, how can it be helpful to mentally argue with them? We know better than to do that, yet we do it, because we don’t know how to stop.

I am a lover of what is, not because I’m a spiritual person, but because it hurts when I argue with reality. We can know that reality is good just as it is, because when we argue with it, we experience tension and frustration. We don’t feel natural or balanced. When we stop opposing reality, action becomes simple, fluid, kind, and fearless.
- Byron Katie, 'Loving what Is'