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Kindle Notes & Highlights
If the world is not going the way you want it to, perhaps it is better to change yourself.
Try not to be swayed by the values of others, not to be troubled by unnecessary concerns, but to live an infinitely simple life, stripped of wasteful things. That is “Zen style.”
Any given day, a mere ten minutes is all you need. Try making time for emptiness, for not thinking about anything.
Making time for not thinking about anything. That is the first step toward creating a simple life.
Waking up fifteen minutes earlier magically liberates you from busyness.
Each day is not the same.
Disorder in your mind shows in your feet.
“Look carefully at what is under your own feet.” It has a literal meaning, but it also suggests that those who do not pay attention to their footsteps cannot know themselves, and cannot know where their life is going.
When things aren’t going well, we tend to think we are lacking in something. But if we want to change our current situation, we should first part with something before we look to acquire something else.
Discard your attachments. Let go of your assumptions. Reduce your possessions. Living simply is also about discarding your physical and mental burdens.
the key to keeping your mind invigorated is to first put the things around you in order.
Life requires time and effort. That is to say, when we eliminate time and effort, we eliminate life’s pleasures.
Consider trying to write or draw with care—not with the intention of showing it to others, but rather by mindfully facing your inner self.
Why do we take pleasure in delicious things? Because the life in us savors that which has been cultivated by the life in another.
“Within nothingness there is infinite potential.” It means that human beings are born possessing nothing. Yet within all of us lies infinite potential. For this reason, there is nothing to fear. There is nothing to worry about. This is truth.
Acquiring lots of things isn’t freedom. What’s important is acquiring the mind-set of using things freely.
Simplicity is about stripping away what is not useful. Determine whether something is truly necessary, and if it is, then take good care of it. This is different from frugality. Frugality is about subsisting with things of low value. By value, I’m referring not only to its price—it also includes the depth of feeling toward such items.
Acquire only good things that will truly be needed. A lifestyle of simplicity is the fundamental practice that will hone the mind.
Try getting in touch with nature yourself. If you notice a stone lying on the ground, pick it up and hold it. When you see flowers blooming by the side of the road, stop and smell their fragrance.
I would like to depart this world thinking that my life has been a good one.
There’s no point in envying someone else who has been blessed with a little luck. Nor does it do any good to lament your lack of opportunities. Simply work hard to do today what needs to be done. And fortune will surely come your way.
Within yourself lives your true protagonist.
There is no need to be troubled by things that have not yet happened. Think only about what is happening right now.
Almost all anxieties are intangible. They are the invention of your own mind.
Joy is to be found within yourself.
“Be the master wherever you go. Then, wherever you find yourself, things will be as they truly are.”
People who do their best to enjoy what is before them have the greatest chance to discover inner peace.
The place where you currently find yourself, the role you inhabit, the people you meet today, every little thing . . . you never know what might become an opportunity. Stop dismissing what it is that you’re doing, and start living.
Empty your mind, and do not let it settle anywhere or wander.
There is a saying in Zen practice, munen muso, that describes a state of being free from worldly desires and distracting thoughts.
“A day without working is a day without eating.”
If you believe that a task is being forced upon you, then you will see the work as a burden, and it will arouse negative feelings.
If you tell yourself, day in and day out, that something is wrong for you, then how will it ever be right for you?
