If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, try it for eight, sixteen, thirty-two, and so on. Eventually, one discovers that it is not boring, but very interesting. -Zen Saying
Tag Archives: Zen
A zen couch potato is a person who contemplates the nature of television existence. ~ Richard Helms
If you say you had a zen moment, you already didn’t. ~ Alec Sulkin
Practice will never make you perfect. Why should it? What fun would that be? ~ Stephen King
Zen Quote
If you have a glass full of liquid you can discourse forever on its qualities, discuss whether it is cold, warm, whether it is really and truly composed of H-2-O, or even mineral water, or sake. Meditation is Drinking it! ~ Taisen Deshimaru
David M. Bader Quote
Be here now. Be someplace else later. Is that so complicated? ~David M. Bader – Zen Judaism
Zen Quote
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
Be Kind ~Jack Kerouac Quote
Rest and be kind, you don’t have to prove anything. ~Jack Kerouac
Zen Quote
Relax. Nothing is under control. ~Adi Da
Zen Proverb
PictureQuotes.com
We Are All One
Source: http://www.picturequotes.com
Zen Quote
Zen Proverb
“Student says ” I am very discouraged. What should I do?” Master says, “encourage others.” – Zen Proverb
Zen Proverb
“Student says ” I am very discouraged. What should I do?” Master says, “encourage others.” – Zen Proverb
Friday Zen Quote
Sunday Zen Quote
“Mind is simply a combination of all the thoughts, of all the clouds. Mind has no independent nature of its own. When all the thoughts are gone and the sky is clean and clear, you will see that everything that you have paid so much attention to is nothing but emptiness. Your thoughts were all […]
Zen Saying
“Walking is Zen, sitting is Zen; Talking or silent, moving unmoving, The essence is at ease. ” – Yoka
Zen Saying
“Happiness is a simple thing: you are happy when you are not trying to be happy. ” – Zen saying
Wednesday Evening Quote
“In Zen, you drop off all the stuff you don’t need- your worries, fears, opinions, preconceptions, attachments because you really don’t need them! Complete Idiots Guide to Zen Living” –
Tuesday Evening Quote
“You do not need to leave your room, remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you. To be unmasked, it has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet. ” – Franz […]
Zen Saying
“A silent mind is beautiful and dynamic. ” – Zen Saying
Zen Quote
“Children are natural Zen masters; their world is brand new in each and every moment.” – John Bradshaw
Zen Quote
“When hungry, eat your rice; when tired close your eyes. Fools may laugh at me, but wise men will know what I mean.” – Lin-Chi
One
“The one is none other than the All, the All none other than the One.” – SENG TS’AN
Cosmic Order
“Everything in the universe is connected, everything is osmosis. You cannot separate any part from the whole: interdependence rules the cosmic order.” – Taisen Deshimaru
Zen Proverb
“On the human chessboard, all moves are possible.” – Miriam Schiff
Zen Proverb
“When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.” – John F. Kennedy
Japanese Zen Saying
“The world is like a mirror you see? smile and your friends smile back.” – Japanese Zen Saying
Zen Proverb
The blue mountains are of themselves blue mountains; The white clouds are of themselves white clouds. Zenrin Kushu
Zen Proverb
Simplicity before understanding is simplistic; simplicity after understanding is simple. Edward De Bono
Zen Proverb
Not creating delusions is enlightenment. Bodhidharma
The Way It Is
When I see blue sky with a smattering of clouds, it makes me happy. This my fellow readers, is all I need. Don’t need religion, nor read the bible. Don’t need to be told how to enjoy life. I am just basically one happy man, that likes solitude, peace of mind, and quietness. The coffee […]
A Master …..
A master, holding up his staff, says: “If you have one, I give you mine; if you have none, I will take it away from you”. Zen Koan
A Zen Sky
Peaceful Zen summer sky. The atmosphere at its best. It makes people happy. Time of photo: 5:48 PM.
Three Things
Time of photo: 7:40 PM.
Sky
Time of photo: 5:39 PM.
Centered
Zhuangzi 369 BC – 286 BC Chinese Philosopher Source
Clouds
Click on photo to enlarge it.
Happy Birds
It’s early Saturday evening, and in an hour, the sun will be setting at 8:24 PM. Have the windows open, the baseball game is on the TV, and the best part is, the numerous birds all happy and chipper as they are tweeting away in one massive chorus. Sitting here listening to the birds, they […]
Tree of Nut
Each night the Tree of Nut out of naught knits neat nuts. Saiom Shriver
People
563 BC – 483 BC Nepali Buddhism Source
Proverb
When you get there, there isn’t any there there. Zen Proverb
Quote
The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground. Buddha
When you try ……
When you try to stay on the surface of the water, you sink; but when you try to sink, you float. Zen Proverb
Anxiety
So an ancient once said, “Accept the anxieties and difficulties of this life”. Don’t expect your practice to be clear of obstacles. Without hindrances the mind that seeks enlightenment may be burnt out. So an ancient once said, “Attain deliverance in disturbances”. — Kyong Ho Quote source
… Do and live today
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Mind
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Special
Zen says everything is divine so how can anything be special? All is special. Nothing is non-special so nothing can be special. — Osho Source of quote
Existence
Only one thing is certain — that is, nothing is certain. If this statement is true, it is also false. — Ancient Paradox Quote source
Rules
Not to be bound by rules, but to be creating one’s own rules–this is the kind of life which Zen is trying to have us live. — D. T. Suzuki Quote source
Possess
All that is great cannot be possessed – and that is one of the most foolish things man goes on doing. We want to possess. — Osho
Old Age
A life of peace, purity, and refinement leads to a calm and untroubled old age. — Cicero
In any given moment …
In any given moment the answer to your problem is staring you in the face – if only you can see it. — Heather Jansch Source
The Path
You cannot travel the path until you have become the path. — Buddha
Dragged
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Wind
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Truth
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Purpose
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Snow Covered Park
On my daily walk this morning, I decided to cut through the local park, as the walking was kind of on the treacherous side. Lots of icy spots. I only took this one photo, and it does have a Zen look to it.
He knows not ….
He knows not where he’s going, For the ocean will decide, Its not the destination, It’s the glory of the ride. –Edward Monkton, Zen dog
Living
Instructions for living a life. Pay Attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. –Mary Oliver
Everything
If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few. — Shunryu Suzuki
Meditation
Meditation is not about finding the self–quite the contrary: it is about finding one’s way beyond the self. Meditation is also not about ‘explaining the mind’. It is instead about clearing away clutter created by the mind. — David M. White
Conversation
A conversation is so much more than words: a conversation is eyes, smiles, the silences between the words. — Annika Thor
Sun And Trees
A wonderful sunny and cool day. Its a Zen like day.
Opinions
But opinions, judgements, memories, dreaming about the future–ninety percent of the thoughts spinning around in our heads have no essential reality. — Charlotte J. Beck
Reality
To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is. — Thich Nhat Hanh
We may believe ……
We may believe that we know what another person is thinking, but most often our efforts at ‘mind reading’ are projections of our own inner, self-centered concerns. — Susan Edmiston, Leonard Scheff
Thinking
I came to a point where I needed solitude and just stop the machine of ‘thinking’ and ‘enjoying’ what they call ‘living’, I just wanted to lie in the grass and look at the clouds. — Jack Kerouac
“Zen” Moment
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Whoever is happy ….
Whoever is happy will make others happy too. — Anne Frank
Zen lives in the present
Zen lives in the present. The whole teaching is: how to be in the present; how to get out of the past which is no more and how not to get involved in the future which is not yet, and just to be rooted, centered, in that which is. – Osho
Where there is great doubt,… – Zen Proverb
Leap and the…. – Zen Saying
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Zen Bamboo
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Zen practice is the practice of liking… – Daniel Doen Silberberg
The tongue like a sharp knife… – Buddha
The tongue like a sharp knife…kills without drawing blood. – Buddha
“Zen is not bothered about anything…” – Osho
“Zen is not bothered about anything superhuman; its whole concern is how to make ordinary life a blessing.” -Osho
Zen is not a philosophy,… – Osho
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Zen Girl Meditating
Photo Source
“Consider the trees which allow…” Zen Saying
Bamboo Plant
Image Source
“The infinite is in the finite…. – Zen Saying
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‘Zen it has been said…
‘The ultimate purpose of Zen’…
What we think, we become
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Japanese Garden – Kyoto
A beautiful garden that looks like it would be relaxing, and peaceful. Image source
Darkness / Brightness
Zen does not confuse… – Alan Watts
The only thing that can compare… – Ansel Adams
Click on image for the full resolution.http://zen10.com.au/
Meditation
The only limits are,… – James Broughton
Click on image for the full resolution. Source
Zen Meditating
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“When you catch yourself slipping… Donna Quesada
“When you catch yourself slipping into a pool of negativity, notice how it derives from nothing other than resistance to the current situation.” -Donna Quesada, Buddha in the Classroom: Zen
“He knows not where he’s going,… Edward Monkton
“He knows not where he’s going, For the ocean will decide, It’s not the destination, It’s the glory of the ride.” -Edward Monkton, Zen Dog
Mind is like the wood or stone from which… – Bodhidharma
Mind is like the wood or stone from which a person carves an image. If he carves a dragon or a tiger, and seeing it fears it, he is like a stupid person creating a picture of hell and then afraid to face it. If he does not fear it, then his unnecessary thoughts will […]
Zen Haiku – Issa
From the white dewdrops, Learn the way To the pure land. -Issa
Zen Haiku – Ryokan
If we gain something, It was there from the beginning. If we lose anything, it is hidden nearby. Look at the ball in the sleeve of my robe. Surely it has great value. -Ryokan
“Through zeal, knowledge is gotten,…” – Buddha
“Through zeal, knowledge is gotten, through lack of zeal, knowledge is lost; let a man who knows the double path of gain and loss thus place himself that knowledge may grow.” -Buddha
This global warming has brought… – Dalai Lama
This global warming has brought changes in climate, including making perennial snow mountains melt, thereby adversely affecting not only human beings but also other living species. -Dalai Lama
