‘Nobody likes ordinary, commonplace things. And that is quite natural. A good medicine is bitter to the taste, but it wakes us up. It makes us open our eyes. And waking up spoils our dreams.’
Zen Master Hakuin
Chan / Seon / Zen
Morning meditation — Do not do anything (good or bad).
‘Do not do anything (good or bad) and do not even do this not-doing; then straightaway one reaches that place where there is no concern for external affairs, that vast and peaceful place where there are absolutely no obstructing thoughts.’
Everyday Buddhism
Morning meditation — Though there are ten thousand different names.
‘Though there are ten thousand different names, there are not even two dharma realities. For that reason it is written in a sutra: ‘The teachings in the sutras are fingers pointing to the moon.’
Bassui Tokushō
Morning meditation — North, south, east and west being void.
‘North, south, east and west being void, they form a single house.’
Kusan Sunim
Morning meditation — Delusion blinds us to the truths of anicca.
‘Delusion blinds us to the truths of anicca (impermanence), dukkha (suffering), and anattā (not-self), the three marks of existence that the Buddha taught as central to awakening.’
Everyday Buddhism
Morning meditation — Do not be like those sophists who have studied rhetoric and judge a person’s wisdom only by his eloquence.
‘Do not be like those sophists who have studied rhetoric and judge a person’s wisdom only by his eloquence. As it is said, “A snake drinks water and produces poison; a cow drinks water and produces milk.” If you train wisely, bodhi is produced; if you train.’
Master Bojo
Morning meditation — You take something that no longer exists and put it into your mind.
‘You take something that no longer exists and put it into your mind and compare it with what comes up. If you have a shadow of something, can you hold onto that shadow? All of your perceptions, as they arise like shadows, have nothing for you to hold on to.’
Gien Inour Roshi
Morning meditation — The Cloud of Noble Jewels Sutra says.
‘The Cloud of Noble Jewels Sutra says: bodhisattva is one who perseveres in all different types of actions without getting tired in body or mind. This is called the persistent perseverance of a bodhisattva.’
Master Bojo
