Traditional Zen Spirit

If you are trying to attain enlightenment, you are creating and being driven by karma, and you are wasting your time on your black cushion.

Zen is not concerned about philosophical understanding. We emphasize practice.

Whether you practice zazen or not, you have Buddha nature. Because you have it, there is enlightenment in your practice.

Our egotistic ideas are delusion, covering our Buddha nature.

More important than any stage which you will attain is your sincerity, your right effort. Right effort must be based on true understanding of our traditional practice.

If our practice is only a means to attain enlightenment, there is actually no way to attain it! We lose the meaning of the way to the goal.

We have to make our effort in this moment. This is the most important thing for our practice.

He was not different from us.

he suffered

And even after he attained enlightenment he continued the same effort we are making.

When we have the traditional spirit to follow the truth as it goes, and practice our way without any egotistic idea, then we will attain enlightenment in its true sense. And when we understand this point we will make oour best effort in each moment. That is true understanding of Buddhism.

Not be reading or contemplation of philosophy, but only through practice, actual practice, can we understand what Buddhism is.