Identification With Your Mind Creates An Opaque Screen Of Concepts, Labels, Images, Words, Judgments,

All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness.

-Eckhart Tolle

“Free yourself from the illusion of good and bad days. Labeling time makes us nostalgic of the past and demanding of the future. There is only here and now. Let it be.”

— Ram Dass

Today, I found myself heading to a Buddhist temple for an addiction recovery meeting and meditation session. Initially, I was overwhelmed with anxiety, my mind racing with all the ways things could go wrong. Why? Because the mind, though a powerful tool, is just that—a tool. It should be used only when needed; otherwise, it will create problems simply to justify its own activity, becoming an addiction in itself.

As I made my way there, I became aware of the vibrations of the music resonating in my ears, the wind brushing against my face, the comfort of my seat—each moment was rich with joy. Yet, we so rarely tap into the immediate joy available to us in the present.

-二十三夜堂からのメッセージ-

“人間は泣きながら生まれてきたんだ。ながい人生だもの泣くこともあるさ。その度に生まれ変わるんだ、きっと。”

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”

— Buddha

The only Zen you'll find on the mountaintop

is the Zen you brought up with you

Nonetheless, there is value in the journey