"Zen is not a particular state but the normal state: silent, peaceful, unagitated. In Zazen neither intention, analysis, specific effort nor imagination take place. It's enough just to be without hypocrisy, dogmatism, arrogance — embracing all opposites."

Taisen Deshimaru Education See all quotes by Taisen Deshimaru →

React to this quote

More by Taisen Deshimaru

“Taisen Deshimaru in My Space”

“You are the strongest and the others keep their distance. It is no longer necessary to win victories over them.”

“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 saki. Meditation is Drinking it!”

“Keep your hands open, and all the sands of the desert can pass through them. Close them, and all you can feel is a bit of grit.”

“We should learn to think with our fingers.”

“If you are not happy here and now, you never will be.”

Resonant Thoughts

"Meat-eating is undesirable if the person is interested in physical and mental well-being, in securing tranquility for the body and mind. … The greatest religious teachers have always recommended a veg…"

— Satchidananda Saraswati

Religion1914–2002

#peace

"Young man! Deny yourself satisfaction , not with the Stoical intention of complete abstinence, but with the refined Epicurean intention of having in view an ever-growing pleasure. This stinginess with…"

— Immanuel Kant

Philosophy1724–1804

#life

"If a man does not think too much, he rejoices at rising in the morning, and at eating and drinking. He finds satisfaction in them and does not want them to be otherwise. But if he ceases to take thing…"

— Hermann Hesse

Literature1861–1948

#time

"Specifically because of the fact that the James-Lange theory can be considered as a living realization of Cartesian teaching, studying its truth and historical fate cannot but be placed at the beginni…"

— Baruch Spinoza

Philosophy1632–1677

#philosophy