![Now, what is Zen? Some think Zen is an aesthetic of simplicity and refinement; they may find articles in an old curiosity shop that are quaint and uncommon and perhaps antique, and call them Zen objects. If someone has little attachment to things worldly and acts oddly but amiably, people may call him or her a Zen person. Zen students often seem peculiar, but this just shows that they are on their way to accomplishment - they are not yet there. We wash our hands with soap, and the odor of the soap remains on our hands for a little while. This is an effect of washing, but it has nothing to do with cleanliness itself. Zen only trains us to live as we ought to live. Zen works without color, odor or taste. One who would make a show of Zen is worse than a religious snob. […]
Many use the word Zen, but few understand what it really is. Zen sees the whole universe as one’s own true self. It expresses the realization that heaven, earth, and humans grow from the same root, and everything in the world is interrelated.
~ Zen Master Nyogen Senzaki (1876-1958)
[Eloquent Silence, p. 300]
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Our mind and body are by nature pure; but we sully them with sinful thoughts and deeds. In order to restore ourselves to our original purity, we need only to clean away the accumulated dirt. But how do we proceed with the cleansing process? Do we put a barrier between us and the occasions of our bad habits? Do we remove ourselves from the places of temptation? No. We cannot claim victory by avoiding the battle. The enemy is not our surroundings, it is in ourselves. We have to confront ourselves and try to understand our human weakness. We have to take an honest look at ourselves, at our relationships and our possessions, and ask what all our self-indulgence has gotten us. Has it brought us happiness? Surely not.
If we are ruthlessly honest we’ll have to admit that it was our own foolish egotism that soiled us. This admission is painful to make. Well, if we want to melt ice we have to apply heat. The hotter the fire, the quicker the ice melts. So it is with wisdom. The more intense our scrutiny, the quicker we will attain wisdom. When we grow large in wisdom we dwarf our old egotistical self. The contest is then over.
~ Zen Master Hānshān Déqīng (1546-1623)
[Autobiography & Maxims of Chan Master Han Shan, p. 49]
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