Zen Meditation in Plain English Quotes

“Thinking is a very natural process, but we are so easily conditioned by our thinking and give too much value to it. Maezumi Roshi”
― John Daishin Buksbazen, Zen Meditation in Plain English

“To practice Zen means to realize one's existence in the beauty and clarity of this present moment, rather than letting life unravel in useless daydreaming of the past and future. To "rest in the present" is a state of magical simplicity.”
― Peter Matthiessen, Zen Meditation in Plain English

“The difference between “problems” and mere difficulties rests in relating to your situation openly and skillfully. Letting yourself simply experience your difficulties without getting caught up in thoughts about how much you dislike them and in wishes that you didn’t have to deal with them in the first place will change your experience of difficulties. But be very clear about this: It’s not a matter of denying discomfort or resisting unfavorable circumstances; it is simply being willing to relate to all things just as they are—and practicing anyway.”
― John Daishin Buksbazen, Zen Meditation in Plain English

“I put the word “problems” in quotation marks, because difficulties only become problems when we separate ourselves from them instead of dealing with them directly and wholeheartedly.”
― John Daishin Buksbazen, Zen Meditation in Plain English

“It isn’t so terrible to think logically and to be analytical; if we are designing a bridge or balancing a checkbook, that’s the best way to think and the best way to be. But when we look carefully, we see that discursive, linear thinking is only useful for certain kinds of tasks; for others it is quite useless. Like the hammer or the toothbrush, discursive thought is a tool intended for certain kinds of jobs: If you use a hammer to brush your teeth, or a toothbrush to drive nails, you are not likely to meet with great success.”
― John Daishin Buksbazen, Zen Meditation in Plain English

“Our task is to accept each moment and move on from there, continuing to do our level best. When sitting is difficult, the thing to avoid is buying into our inevitable feelings of frustration or discouragement. And when sitting seems to be going well, we just accept that too in an equally matter-of-fact way, without becoming euphoric. We must let go of all ideas of “making progress” or “not making progress.” Easy or hard, take each moment as it is, accepting it as a helpful teaching, without comment.This is the heart of learning to sit, and this is the way we learn to appreciate our life.”
― John Daishin Buksbazen, Zen Meditation in Plain English

“Keep this in mind, though: sooner or later, you really must study with a teacher, for the practice is long and not easy, and there are many opportunities to become discouraged or confused along the way.”
― John Daishin Buksbazen, Zen Meditation in Plain English