Essential Chan Buddhism Quotes

“Retreating from the world will not liberate you. Happiness is not found in a secluded forest hut or an isolated cave. Enlightenment comes when you connect to the world. Only when you truly connect with everyone and everything else do you become enlightened. Only by going deeply and fully into the world do you attain liberation.”
― Guo Jun, Essential Chan Buddhism: The Character and Spirit of Chinese Zen

“If you want to help sentient beings, you have to get your hands dirty.”
― Guo Jun, Essential Chan Buddhism: The Character and Spirit of Chinese Zen

“I tell my students not to be frightened; in the history of Buddhism-for 2,500 years-no one has broken or fractured a leg because of sitting in meditation.”
― Guo Jun, Essential Chan Buddhism: The Character and Spirit of Chinese Zen