Kenneth S. Leong > Quotes

“Impermanence is the way of reality. The world changes. We ourselves change. Change is the only truth. Therefore, to hold on to a fixed idea, concept, doctrine, or opinion is like committing spiritual suicide.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“While a "don't-know mind" is alive and full of possibilities, a mind that claims to know is a closed and stagnant one.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“Reality is neither good nor bad; it is a matter of how we choose to perceive it. For someone who has mastered the art of seeing, the world is always perfect. External reality does not have to change in order to make us happy. The secret lies in changing our perception of it.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“One of the most profound truths that Mahayana Buddhism teaches is that nirvana is samsara (the troubled world). [...] The same truth is expressed most beautifully in the Christian image of the Incarnation: God descends to reascend. There can be no ascension without descent. We must realize that Zen and Christianity are not telling two different stories but one story.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“Zen people almost never talk about hell or sin. For the real problem is ignorance, especially ignorance about our true identity.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“As Catholic mystic Thomas Merton observed, "Everything that is, is holy." To see the truth of this statement is the beginning of an abundant life.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“Above all, Zen discipline means complete openness to what is and the ability to be totally immersed in whatever one is doing.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“Jesus illustrated the principle of wu-wei beautifully in his Nature Sermon. The wild birds neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet they are fed; the lilies of the field neither toil nor spin, yet they are clothed. Wu-wei is not about being lazy and doing nothing. Rather, it is about following the way of nature and not wasting energy. It is about the beauty of "letting it be"!”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“Compassion is not a matter of charity, pity, or sympathy. It is a result of seeing the interconnectedness of all things and recognizing that this is a participatory universe in which we are all one.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“To do God's will is simply to surrender our ego and accept what is. It is to develop a nonviolent approach to life: to recognize and accept our weaknesses and limitations, to be friendly with the universe instead of fighting against it, to accept that there are things that we simply cannot control or predict.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“Disappointment is the fast track to enlightenment because it accelerates our coming to terms with reality.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“But in order to look, one has to start with a beginner's mind that carries no preconceptions or presumptions. The beginner's mind looks to find out what is new; it does not look to confirm.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“Intellectually, we all know that we cannot avoid death. But for most people, there is usually a wide discrepancy between between intellectual reality and psychological reality. Psychologically, we tend to deny death. [...] Recognizing the reality of death psychologically and not just intellectually is an important part of spiritual awakening.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“Carrying water and chopping wood are just as much spiritual practices as reading scriptures.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“Zen calls our attention to the wonders of the ordinary. There is a hidden dimension of beauty, richness, and harmony in the common world surrounding us, but we seldom take notice. Zen tries to stimulate our sensitivity to these natural wonders and hence to recover the joy in our daily lives.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“When was the last time you noticed the beauty of a cool breeze or the wonder of a starry sky or the vibrancy of a wild flower on the roadside? I used to have the ability to instantly appreciate the beauty of all these when I was a child, but by the time I was twenty it was almost lost. (It took a lot of Zen practice for me to regain it.) The world has not changed that much; there are still summer breezes, night skies, and wild flowers. But where has the perception gone?”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“Enlightenment is not an achievement; it is just the seeing of reality as it is. In fact, nirvana is simply what is. We have been staring at it all our lives, and yet so few of us get it. The fact is that life is at the same time lamentable and beautiful. When we realize this humorous and absurd beauty of life, what can we do but to burst into laughter?”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“Truth is like life in that we cannot freeze it without killing it.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“{T]hose who are always trying to control everything and eliminate all uncertainties are miserable. For they are fighting against nature. On the other hand, those who come to accept uncertainties as inevitable live lives of peace.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“The point of Zen is not to defy reason but to recognize the limitations of rationality.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“Ultimately, each of us will have to determine for ourselves who Jesus is and what he represents. For me, he is an artist of life, and what he teaches is the fine art of living. Perhaps this is my bias; perhaps it is not.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“A sure sign of false faith is its militant stance. While true faith is marked by its gentleness to all aspects of life, false faith can be easily identified by its stubbornness, inflexibility, paranoia, and a desperate need to be right.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“Every day is a good day" does not mean hitting the jackpot everyday. Nor does it mean getting a promise from God or Buddha. Rather it refers to the blissful state in which one can accept reality totally and unconditionally.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“The presence of multiple interpretations is never a problem; it is simply a manifestation of the diversity of life. It is only when we try to enforce uniformity in interpretation that acts of violence, human suffering, and the deadening of the soul begin.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“Do not fight your inner demons. Learn to absorb them into your being with compassion - for they are part of you! Remember what Jesus says: love your enemies. To love means to respect, to attend to, to be ready to respond to, and to understand.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“[O]ur existential anxiety originates not from the objective state of reality but from our inflated expectations. The main problem is the discrepancy between our belief that we can handle everything by ourselves and the fact that, as mortals, we have several limitations. Unaware of this, we try to do the impossible: to control the uncontrollable, to predict the unpredictable, to hold on to the impermanent, and to secure the unsecurable. This illusion of omnipotence becomes our torture.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“While "religious" people treat fuzziness as a liability, Zen people treat it as an asset. For this fuzziness of nature, combined with the creativity innate in the human mind, translates into opportunities for our liberation. If the world is indeterminate, then we can use our creativity to interpret it in a way that fosters inner peace and enables spiritual growth.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“Zen is a transcultural and trans-religious phenomenon. No matter where you are, you can always find it. Zen is in you.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“When we find the dark side of life too much to take, when we feel an urge to fight or escape from it all, perhaps we should visualize a lotus flower, the timeless Buddhist symbol for purity. While the lotus itself is clean and beautiful, it is nevertheless rooted in dirty, stinking mud. Unsightly as the mud may be, it provides the necessary nutrients for the lotus flower. Should the flower be disconnected from the mud, it cannot continue to live. Perhaps we should think of our greed, anger, and lust in the same way: they provide the necessary food for our soul.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus

“In a nutshell, Zen is a poetization of life and a vivid expression of the human soul, albeit without the formality, rigidity, and superficiality associated with organized religions.”
― Kenneth S. Leong, The Zen Teachings of Jesus