“Zen could not be anything else but original and creative because it refuses to deal with concepts but deals with living facts…
Zen is decidedly not a system founded upon logic and analysis. If anything, it is the antipode to logic, by which I mean the dualistic mode of thinking. There maybe an intellectual element in Zen, for Zen is the whole mind, and in it we find a great many things…
Zen has nothing to teach us in the way of intellectual analysis; nor has it any set doctrines imposed upon its followers for acceptance. In this respect Zen is quite chaotic…
If I am asked, then, what Zen teaches, I would answer, Zen teaches nothing. Whatever teachings are in Zen, come out of one’s own mind. We teach ourselves; Zen merely points the way.” ~from Introduction to Zen by Shunryu Suzuki
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Hey, thanks so much for reading! Elephant offers 1 article every month for free.
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