An Introduction to Zen Training Quotes

“The eternity of "anytime" shines in this moment "now" while the unlimitedness of "anyplace" is manifested in the limits of "here." When the universality of "anyone" dances out in the individual "I," for the first time you have the world of Zen.”
― Omori Sogen, An Introduction to Zen Training

“The act of correctly seeing this world from this state of concentration (jyo) and the world of samadhi is called “wisdom.” In other words, wisdom is the act of perceiving things of this world as they truly are.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“In the distinguished book Zazen no Shokei by the lay Zen Master Kawajiri Hogin, he writes, “Because zazen is training to realize the One Mind of yourself, it is a mistake to set up an aim outside of yourself … Not setting up an aim is the true aim.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“There is a saying, “A cow drinks water and gives milk; a snake drinks water and gives poison.” Although originally all water tastes the same, it becomes different when a cow drinks it and when a snake drinks it. Depending on your goal or motivation for training, Zen also changes,”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“Further, to have concentration without wisdom is to idly come to a standstill in an empty world.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“His own clothes were simple but always clean and neat. When some hippies argued that this was not “natural,” Omori said nothing but pointed to a nearby cat, busy cleaning and smoothing its fur.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“nirvana, which is another name for samadhi.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“However, this Land of Lotus Blossoms does not exist outside us.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“Nirvana is not pessimistic or negative like going to one’s death the way most people think of it. Rather, it means gaining eternal life and entering the state of absolute security.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“This Fourfold Wisdom corresponds to the eight consciousnesses with which we are originally one. The samadhi of Mahayana Buddhism is considered to be the only way of turning the eight consciousnesses into the Fourfold Wisdom and presenting it to us fully and clearly.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“The Fourfold Wisdom consists of the Wisdom of a Big Round Mirror, the Wisdom of Equality, the Wisdom of True Perceiving, and the Wisdom of True Working. These may be thought of as the four aspects of the workings of wisdom. The first, Wisdom of a Big Round Mirror, pertains to the primal wisdom which is bright and clear all over like a big round mirror. It may be deemed as the essence of the mind, in which Heaven and Earth are one with us as in the phrase “the light of the great, round mirror brimming with black.” It alludes to the oneness of myriads of things. The second, Wisdom of Equality, is the wisdom in which it can be seen that all things in existence possess a nature that is equal. This kind of wisdom alludes to the mountains, rivers, grasses, trees, and all things as equally embodying the wisdom and virtues of Tathagata. The third, Wisdom of True Perceiving, is said to be the wisdom which makes one observe the delicate operations of all beings by means of the analysis of their ways of existence, their structures, their forms, their actions, and so forth. The fourth is the Wisdom of True Working. It is the wisdom capable of making our sense perception function properly, as in the case of the eyes seeing and the nose smelling. The operation of this kind of wisdom for universal salvation points to the integration of enlightenment and action, namely, the oneness of knowledge and conduct.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“think that what Master Hakuin means by his words “beyond dualism” is that it is not only we, who transcend such playful dualism, but also all other things in their own no self-nature that are in operation according to their selfless essence.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“also mention in the same book that Master Imakita Kosen likewise writes in the fourth chapter of Zenkai Ichiran that the consistent way of a superior man lies nowhere but in saying, “Yes!”7 Master Takuan calls this mind that answers, “Yes!” Immovable Wisdom. I think that this spontaneous response to anything in the affirmative selflessly and with mu-shin (no mind) is “praising the practice of zazen and faithfully following it.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“Nembutsu is the invocation of Buddha’s name. It is said, “When I invoke the name of Buddha, there is neither I nor Buddha.” This is the true nembutsu. It pertains to the realm of oneness, rather than to that of dualism in which self and Buddha are deemed to be separate as subject and object of invocation respectively. Thus, it is not too much to say that the samadhi of Mahayana Zen Buddhism is the most supreme form of nembutsu.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“It goes without saying that the method of melting the ice of our egos into water, as they originally are, lies in samadhi.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“Kato Genchi and other scholars like him contend that religion consists of two types: those religions which differentiate God from Man and those religions which equate God with Man. For instance, Christianity belongs to the first type where the distinction between God and Man pertains to the absolute distance between them. In Christianity the individual wishes to be saved by means of prayers which form the method of conforming with the Whole. Our Zen belongs to the second type of religion where equating Man with God pertains to the essential oneness of God and Man. In it the method of seeing into the oneness of the individual and the Whole is adopted, and by means of this method the distinction between the two is transcended.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“All beings are primarily Buddhas,” can be called the primary statement of the essence of Buddhism. According to scholars of religion, religion means the completion of the individual as the Whole.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“Once another monk said to Priest Joshu, “Shakyamuni must have been naturally free from all kinds of desires, as he was the Enlightened One and the greatest Ruler of the Threefold World.” “No, he is the one most attached to the greatest desire in this whole world,” said Joshu, baffling our anticipation again. Viewed from a certain perspective, the above answer may strike some of us as a typical Zen expression of perversity. This, however, was not the case with Joshu, as is clear in the following dialogue with the astonished monk. “Why do you say so?” “Shakyamuni had a great desire for saving all human beings, didn’t he?”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“the mind of nondiscriminating discrimination which Master Bankei calls the Unborn Buddha Mind. He writes, “To see and hear things without any preparation to see and hear them is called Unborn Mind.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“Where were you facing yesterday?” “Well, my nose doesn’t hurt a bit today.” This answer must have highly pleased Baso. He praised Hyakujo, saying, “Now you understand. You know about today very well.” He meant that Hyakujo truly realized the whereabouts of life.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“Modern world history began with the discovery of the Self and attained its summit in the eventual awareness of the Absolute Self.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“It seems to me, however, that there are two different types of loss of humanity. The rightist type can be seen in a certain phase of the so-called American lifestyle. Those who become full of despair while chasing their insatiable desire for pleasure belong to this type. The nihilistic trend evident in the popularity of not only mahjong and pinball games but also in dances like “the monkey” and “go-go” dancing should be regarded as typical symptoms of this rightist type of loss of humanity.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“We are white dew drops; If we lay ourselves just as we are On the maple leaves, We are red beads.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“When you fill your tanden with power and with attention, what physiologic effects can be found?” The first effect he discusses suggests that, when the tanden is filled with energy and pressure, blood previously stored in the liver and the spleen is pushed into the capillaries. The physiological effect is such that one could say that the tanden acts like a secondary heart. Fresh blood, rich in red blood cells, is sent up to the cerebral center through the cervical plexus. As a result, the respiratory center is influenced in such a way that respiration is tranquilized. The second phenomena in this circulation is the neutralizing regulation of adrenaline by the cholinergic nerves of the parasympathetic nervous system when they are stimulated by pressure on the tanden. In short, a new world, completely different from the one in which the body used to breathe with chest and abdomen, comes into being through the pressure applied to the area in and around the tanden. It is indeed a “revolution of the living body.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“It has long been said that breathing becomes well regulated, blood circulation becomes normalized, the abdomen becomes filled with energy in a way that creates self-composure, and insomnia can be cured as the result of zazen. The unprecedented research of Professor Kasamatsu has succeeded in demonstrating theses empirical effects scientifically.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“of their brain waves quickly changed to an astonishing degree 50 seconds after the start of zazen. Even after the finish, the effect remained. This could not be seen at all when amateurs tried to imitate it.2 Thus, zazen has recently begun to be recognized as something contributing to the mental health of some patients suffering from neuroses.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“Sanzen is classified into sosan (mandatory interviews for those with koan) and dokusan (individual interviews).”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“When a number of people recite a sutra in one accord, they are told to recite it with their ears. It is good to recite the sutra in such a way that the voices of those sitting next to us enter our ears, and, passing through them, come out of our mouths by becoming our own voices. After the lecture, the testimonial teaching of the past Zen Master related to the temple or the lecturer, or Shiku Seigan Mon77 are recited by all present.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“After the passage of a given length of time, the jikijitsu again rings his bell once and claps his clappers twice. Then comes a short break of about ten minutes. Sometimes during this break kinhin (meditative walking) takes place in the meditation hall.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training

“When all are seated, the jikijitsu claps the taku (wooden clappers) once, followed by the four successive rings of the small metal bell called inkin at measured intervals. This is the sign of shijo, which means the beginning of samadhi or zazen. In the ensuing period of quietness, the slightest movement of our bodies, even coughing, is forbidden.”
― Omori Sogen, Introduction to Zen Training: A Physical Approach to Meditation and Mind-Body Training