When you find the place
Where you are, Practice occurs.²
Zen makes you do what you’re doing all the time—
Only it makes you do it Consistently.³
A voluptuous Surrender—utterly
Immersed in what’s Present so
The surroundings fade away.⁴
In walking, just Walk—
In sitting, just Sit—
Above all, don’t wobble.⁵
Meditation in Activity is a
Thousand times superior to meditation in stillness.⁶
Zen must be seized with Bare Hands—
With no gloves on!⁷
“What is the Way?”—“Ordinary Mind is the Way.”⁸
There is no special principle in the study of the way—
It is only necessary to See & Hear directly:⁹
Instead of quoting the Buddha—
Be the Buddha.¹⁰
¹ Maria Popova, Why Poetry, Why Now
² Dōgen tr. Robert Aiken & Kazuaki Tanahashi, Genjo Koan
³ Alan Watts, Zen Tales
⁴ Rebecca Solnit, A Field Guide to Getting Lost
⁵ Yunmen Wenyan
⁶ Hakuin Ekaku
⁷ D.T. Suzuki, An Introduction to Zen Buddhism
⁸ Nanquan, The Gateless Gate 19
⁹ Shido Bunan Zenji tr. Thomas Cleary, quoted by Meido Moore, Hidden Zen
¹⁰ Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now