Zen is very simple… Who are you?
In this whole world everyone searches for happiness outside, but few souls find the inner path.
Everybody says, “I” – “I want this, I am like that…” But nobody understands this “I.” Can you remember before you were born, did your I exist then, where did your I come from?
When it comes times to leave this body, where will your I go? If you sincerely ask, “who am I?” sooner or later you will run into a wall where all thinking is cut off. We call this could call this “don’t know” or we could call this “innocence”.
Zen is keeping this innocence or this don’t know. Zen is being present to the moment, everywhere and everywhen.
When walking, standing, sitting,
lying down, speaking, being
silent, moving, being still.
All times, in all places, without
interruption – what is this?
One mind is infinite kalpas.
Meditation in Zen means keeping the don’t-know mind when walking, working, breathing, chanting and and just sitting … this might be called Zen.
Finally, your don’t-know mind will become clear. Then you can see the sky, only blue. You can see the tree, only green. Your mind is like a clear mirror. Red comes, the mirror is red; white comes the mirror is white. A hungry person comes, you can give him food; a thirsty person comes, you can give her something to drink. There is no desire for myself, only for all beings. That mind is already enlightenment, what we call Great Love, Great Compassion, the Great Bodhisattva Way. It’s very simple, not difficult!
So Buddha said that all beings have Buddha-nature (enlightenment nature). But Zen Master Joju said that a dog has no Buddha-nature. Which one is right? Which one is wrong? If you find that, you find the true way.
Perhaps that is Zen.