Your mind is birthless and continuous,
without a beginning, middle, or end.
The rising and sinking of agitated waves
ceases by itself without interference.
This mind that is obscured by thoughts,
when left as it is, unmodified,
will clarify as the dharmakaya.[1]
Do not modify it, but rest in relaxation.
Do not control the mind, but let it go free.
Do not have intentions, but be spacious.
Do not focus on anything, but be expansive.—Lama Shang
A still mind is unobstructed—always open and receptive. It doesn’t hold on or attach to anything. At any moment in time, it is free.
—John Daido Loori
From Finding the Still Point by John Daido Loori (Shambhala Publications, 2007).
When you practice zazen, no matter how you feel, just concentrate on breathing, without thinking, “My concentration is good,’ or ‘My concentration is poor.’ Whatever you feel, don’t worry about it. Please just sit. Take care of your breathing with wholeheartedness. That’s enough. Just to follow this practice is to live a significant life.
—Dainin Katagiri
From Each Moment is the Universe: Zen and the Way of Being Time by Dainin Katagir, (Shambhala, 2008).
Meditation has to do with opening what is closed in us, balancing what is reactive, and exploring and investigating what is hidden. That is the why of practice. We practice to open, to balance, and to explore.
—Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield
From Seeking the Heart of Wisdom: The Path of Insight Meditation, by Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield (Shambhala, 1987).
- Dharmakāya ("truth body" or "reality body") is one of the three bodies of the Buddha in Mahayana Buddhism. Dharmakāya constitutes the unmanifested "inconceivable" aspect of a Buddha, out of which Buddhas arise and to which they return after their dissolution. ↵
