The ZEN Ox-Herding Pictures Quotes

“Yet generally speaking, people are convinced that their life began with their birth and will end with their death. However, this is a huge, fateful mistake for it only pertains to our physical body. The truth of Zen is that there is a true self, which is the eternal, timeless reality of our true essence and was not born and will never die. Our birth is not the beginning of our life since our true essence precedes our birth, and this means – we are life. And if our true essence is already there before our birth, it will also be there after our death. Recognising this – our original, undying essential-nature – is the true meaning of our life and thus the most important goal of our human existence. Therefore, becoming aware of and awakening to our birth- and deathless true self is life’s highest experience. Whatever”
― Zensho W. Kopp, The ZEN Ox-Herding Pictures: Following the Path to EnlightenmentEnlightenment