In meditation we are not looking for anything. We are just looking.

“The cushion is not the grand arena, and you are no gladiator.

Spirituality is not a battle between the forces of darkness and light; it is the unification of these two forces.

Meditation is not an answer to the self-conscious question of insufficiency… It is a silent inquiry into the institution of self-consciousness.

Insight burns through illusion…

The experience of ‘this‘ and ‘that‘ is an illusion…

Dissatisfaction—the feeling of being broken or incomplete—is a symptom of this illusion… It is the child of a barren woman!

We cannot kill the monster in our closet. All we can do is look in the closet and see that it is empty.

Meditation is nothing more than the observation of confusion.” ~ from My Last Words by Ben Riggs

“Life, according to Zen, ought to be lived as a bird flies through the air, or as a fish swims in the water.” ~D.T. Suzuki

“If you continue this simple practice every day you will obtain a wonderful power. Before you attain it, it is something wonderful, but after you attain it, it is nothing special. As a Chinese poem says, “I went and I returned. It was nothing special. Rozan famous for its misty mountains; Sekko for its water.”

It is a kind of mystery that for people who have no experience of enlightenment, enlightenment is something wonderful. But if they attain it, it is nothing. But yet it is not thing nothing. Do you understand?

So, if you continue this practice, more and more you will acquire something—nothing special, but nevertheless something…

When we express our true nature we are human beings.” ~from Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Suzuki Roshi.

—

Elephant Meditation is now on twitter… Click here to follow us!

Elephant 365 is an example of Elephant Journal’s commitment to the Mindful Life. Everyday we will offer a new reading regarding meditation practice and the spiritual path, all infused with a fresh perspective on traditional spirituality. If you would like to follow Elephant 365 on FaceBook click here and become a fan of Elephant Meditation by clicking the “Like” tab at the top of the page.