Living by Vow Quotes

“There may be no war within this country, but if there is fighting somewhere else this country cannot be peaceful, because everything is connected. We have to work together with things inside and outside ourselves. This attitude is bodhisattva practice.”
― Shohaku Okumura, Living by Vow: A Practical Introduction to Eight Essential Zen Chants and Texts

“Thought is just a secretion from our brain.”
― Shohaku Okumura, Living by Vow: A Practical Introduction to Eight Essential Zen Chants and Texts

“When we wear the okesa, we are also farming. This is the meaning of “robe of virtuous field” (fukuden-e). This body and mind is the field we work. It is not a field of fortune from which we can expect to receive blessings without practice. We have to cultivate our life.”
― Shohaku Okumura, Living by Vow: A Practical Introduction to Eight Essential Zen Chants and Texts