Tao of Zen Quotes

“The function of the zazen and koan is to undo the system that contains them.”
― Ray Grigg, Tao of Zen

“So the real answer to any fundamental question is experience itself.”
― Ray Grigg, Tao of Zen

“The ordinary is immune to understanding because it cannot be placed outside human experience for examination.”
― Ray Grigg, Tao of Zen

“The unspoken conspiracy of all religions—and the Buddhism of Zen Buddhism is not an exception—is their seemingly irresistable inclination to make metaphysical what is not so, and then to organize into complexity what is inherently simple.”
― Ray Grigg, Tao of Zen

“The situation demands effort but thwarts trying.”
― Ray Grigg, Tao of Zen

“The first is that all effort to negate self only succeeds in affirming it. The second is that self is not a thing but a reference position.”
― Ray Grigg, Tao of Zen

“One uttered word of explanation is wrong,”
― Ray Grigg, Tao of Zen

“But for those who need a system, Chuang Tzu offers the reminder that the fish trap is only needed to catch the fish; once the fish is caught the fish trap is no longer needed so much the better if the fish can be caught without the trap.”
― Ray Grigg, Tao of Zen

“Now, I am going to tell you something. I don't know what heading it comes under, and whether or not it is relevant here, but it must be relevant at some point. It is not anything new, but I would like to say it. There is a beginning. There is no beginning of that beginning. There is no beginning of that no beginning of beginning. There is something. There is nothing. There is something before the beginning of something and nothing, and something before that. Suddenly there is something and nothing. But between something and nothing, I still don't really know which is something and which is nothing. Now, I've just said something, but I don't really know whether I've said anything or not.3”
― Ray Grigg, Tao of Zen