Our minds are continually splitting our experiences into “good” and “bad”, and coming to quick conclusions which can close down our openness to what is happening.

An extract from the visit of a small boy named Sin Hae to the temple of Hui Neng, the sixth and last Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, 638–713

Sin Hae stood up and bowed, saying, “Teach me.”

Hui Neng said, “You should not think of good and of bad; cut all thinking and all speech. Right now, what is it that teaches you?”

Sin Hae bowed, saying, “I don’t know.”

The Zen Master said, “Keep this ‘don’t know’ mind at all times, and you will understand what teaches you.”