Light and Shadow
Walter Norwick liked to tell his Zen Students The Tale of New Year’s Eve party where a knock came at the front door and the attendees opened it to admit their guest of honor: Fortune, dressed in all his finery. After all the celebration had died down, however, someone heard a faint scratching sound from the back door. They opened it and a scrawny, filthy creature entered the room, brining the festivities to a standstill.
whoa re you someone finally asked.
”Misfortune”, croaked the creature, then pointed at the guest of honor, “Where he goes, I follow”.
Suffering
No matter how far out on the sea of suffering we’ve sailed, all that is required is to turn toward awakening. It’s never too late, but it takes that turning, and no one can do that for us.
What is Zen
As flying is the essential thing for a bird to be a bird, to study the self is the essential thing for us human beings to be human. A human being is a living being that needs to study the self to become the self.
thoughtful impressions 