All the joys in all the worlds of all beings who have ever been or will ever be, will never equal the perfection of one moment of absorption into the stillness of nirvana.
That's why we call this a dark age. It's a dark age in the sense that there are so many people on the earth who are un-attuned that they create such a level of white noise, in a sense, that it drowns out things that we'd like to see.
Think about the flowers. Life is just a bunch of pretty pictures. All this is supposed to do is force you beyond the mind, when you realize that you can't figure it out.
I believe that dialogue is the key to breaking through our tendency to separate and isolate. Dialogue changes isolation and loneliness into connection and interdependence. This, I believe, is the essence of Buddhism.
We go outside, on a clear, cold night. We see millions of stars all over the place, bright and beautiful, each one shining forever. Each moment is forever, it's shining in each moment forever.
Unfortunately the student often feels guilt for not living the type of life that their Teacher suggested, or they feel that they are intrinsically bad and incapable of leading a higher life.
The best form of meditation is the sitting meditation. But work is next. Work is a great way to meditate.
If you spend too much time in a place like that your power level will be lowered and these beings will annoy you.
For some reason, there is a purity to the Swiss Alps - a certain energy - that is very reminiscent of my snowboarding experiences in the Himalayas.
Suzuki's works on Zen Buddhism are among the best contributions to the knowledge of living Buddhism. . . We cannot be sufficiently grateful to the author, first for the fact of his having brought Zen closer to Western understanding, and secondly for the manner in which he has achieved this task.
Feel the wind. This wind blows from world to world and from life to death. This is the wind of dharma. Be in love with the wind. It is an intimate lover. It enraptures you. It blows you through eternity.
I'm not speaking metaphorically, plants that you have in your house, or if you've ever made friends with a tree somewhere, there is a moment that these beings can aid you.
When asked if I consider myself Buddhist, the answer is, Not really. But it's more my religion than any other because I was brought up with it in an intellectual and spiritual environment. I don't practice or preach it, however. But Buddhism has had a major effect on who I am and how I think about the world. What I have learned is that I like all religions, but only parts of them.
There are many universes, countless universes, and many of them are invisible. We call these the astral planes, but they are as real as this world is and they're filled with beings that have life spans.
In Zen we strive to bring both the mind and the body into perfect combination, so that there is no intrinsic difference between them.
The earth is alive. There are places on the earth that are very powerful. Meaning that on another dimensional level, there is an interfacing dimension where there is a crossover point between dimensions and a tremendous amount of energy is passing back and forth.
Purity is also developed in action. Purity is developed when we love.
Love is self-realization. Love is liberation. The only way beyond time, to unravel the knot of existence, is to love.
Then there are most of my students who don't know a whole lot about love. You don't know what fun love is. I will remain inaccessible to you until you learn how to love.
Buddhism in one long prayer.
