However great our conceptual knowledge and understanding might be,
in the face of real experience,
concepts are like flakes of snow fallen on a burning fire.
Zenkei Shibayama, 1894 – 1974, Japanese Rinzai Zen priest, head Roshi of Nanzenji Zen Monastery in Kyoto
Some time when the river is ice ask me
mistakes I have made. Ask me whether
what I have done is my life….
I will listen to what you say.
You and I can turn and look
at the silent river and wait. We know
the current is there, hidden; and there
are comings and goings from miles away
that hold the stillness exactly before us.
What the river says, that is what I say.
William Stafford
Let the world be as it is
and learn to rock with the waves.
Remain ‘radiant,’ as Joyce put it,
‘in the filth of the world’.
Joseph Campbell
Coming to the mid point of winter, short dark days
Life is uncertain, surprises are likely.
If you are ….in a dark place, you still have what really counts.
If you are in a predicament, there will be a gate.
John Tarrant, It Would Be a Pity to Waste A Good Crisis
There is a story in Zen circles about a man and a horse. The horse is galloping quickly, and it appears that the man on the horse is going somewhere important. Another man standing alongside the road, shouts, “Where are you going?” and the first man replies, “I don’t know! Ask the horse!” This is also our story. We are riding a horse, we don’t know where we are going, and we can’t stop. The horse is our habit energy pulling us along, and we are powerless. We struggle all the time, even during our sleep. We are at war within ourselves…We have to learn the art of stopping – stopping our thinking, our habit energies, our forgetfulness, the strong emotions that rule us.
Thich Nhat Hahn, The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching
The challenge – to be truly alive in ordinary moments, not needing continual distraction and stimulation..
As I see it, there isn’t so much to do. Just be ordinary – put on your robes, eat your food, and pass the time doing nothing.
Master Linji, 9th Century Chinese Zen Master, founder of the Rinzai school of Zen, Teaching 18
