Zen Wisdom
Zen Wisdom
Zen Buddhism is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism that emphasizes letting go of forceful efforts and intellectual striving in favor of a more natural and spontaneous state of mind.
The central tenet of Zen is sitting meditation (zazen) — which is viewed as the key ingredient to awakening one's inner nature and uncovering profound existential knowledge.
There are 3 main schools of Zen Buddhism: Sōtō | Rinzai | Obaku
Zen Koans
One popular teaching method of Zen consists of a series of stories called koans.
These koans are designed to spark spontaneous instances of enlightenment that cannot be delivered through intellec
tual conversation.
They’re kind of like a joke, but the punchline is enlightenment rather than laughter.
A joke sparks laughter. A Zen koan sparks enlightenment.
Some of my favorite koans:
Zen Books
Zig Zag Zen (Allan Badiner)
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Robert M Pirsig)
The Way of Zen (Alan Watts)
Zen and the Art of Archery (Eugen Herrigel)
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (Shunryu Suzuki)
Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life (Héctor García & Francesc Miralles)
Zen Flesh Zen Bones (Paul Reps & Nyogen Senzaki)
Does it Matter? (Alan Watts)
The Essential Dogen (Dogen)
This is It (Alan Watts)
Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism (Chogyam Trungpa)
Zen Quotes
1.
To be calm is the highest achievement of the self.
— Unknown
2.
When you realize nothing is lacking, the whole world belongs to you.
— Lao Tzu
3.
Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water.
— Unknown
4.
I live by letting things happen.
— Dogen
5.
The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness.
— Eric Hoffer
6.
The menu is not the meal.
— Alan Watts
7.
Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.
— Alan Watts
8.
All know the way, but few actually walk it.
— Bodhidharma
9.
Sleep is the best meditation.
— 14th Dalai Lama
10.
Relax. Nothing is under control.
— Adi Da
11.
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
— 14th Dalai Lama
12.
Let go, or be dragged.
— Unknown
13.
Wherever you are, be there totally.
— Eckhart Tolle
14.
Don’t curse the darkness, light a candle.
— Confucius
15.
And when they played they really played. And when they worked they really worked.
— Dr. Seuss
16.
If you chase two rabbits, you catch none.
— Confucius
17.
We just let it happen… and that’s the beauty of this technique.
— Bob Ross
18.
Don’t be afraid to just sit and watch.
— Anthony Bourdain
19.
In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.
— Sun Tzu
20.
Act without expectation.
— Lao Tzu
21.
We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want.
— Lao Tzu
22.
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as if nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is a miracle.
— Albert Einstein
23.
Do not be too interested in Zen.
— Shunryu Suzuki
24.
If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.
— Lao Tzu
25.
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
— Lao Tzu
26.
The foolish reject what they see, not what they think — the wise reject what they think, not what they see.
— Huang Po
27.
To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.
— Confucius
28.
I have lived with several Zen masters — all of them cats.
— Eckhart Tolle
29.
My daily affairs are quite ordinary, but I’m in total harmony with them.
— Layman Pang
30.
The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.
— Jiddu Krishnamurti
31.
For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.
— Thich Nhat Hanh
32.
When walking, walk. When eating, eat.
— Unknown
33.
The moment is where we spend most of our time.
— Terence McKenna
34.
Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.
— Yoda
35.
When one has nothing to lose, one becomes courageous. We are timid only when there is something we can still cling to.
— Carlos Castaneda
36.
If you ever start taking things too seriously, just remember that we are talking monkeys on an organic spaceship flying through the universe.
— Joe Rogan
37.
Welcome if it comes. Let go if it goes. Chase nothing. Cling to nothing. Remain unconcerned.
— Unknown
38.
Once you’ve plunged into the ocean, does it really matter whether or not you believe in water? — William Richards
— Unknown