Leigh

“5. If You Love, Love Openly

Twenty monks and one nun, who was named Eshun, were practicing meditation with a certain Zen master.

Eshun was very pretty even though her head was shaved and her dress plain. Several monks secretly fell in love with her. One of them wrote her a love letter, insisting upon a private meeting.

Eshun did not reply. The following day the master gave a lecture to the group, and when it was over, Eshun arose. Addressing the one who had written her, she said: "If you really love me so much, come and embrace me now.”
― Nyogen Senzaki and Paul Reps

“I'm like everyone else - I see the world in terms of what I would like to see happen, not what actually does.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

“14. Muddy Road

Tanzan and Ekido were once traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was still falling.

Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unble to cross the intersection.

"Come on, girl," said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carriedher over the mud.

Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he could no longer restrain himself. "We monks don't go near females," he told Tanzan, "especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?"

"I left the girl there," said Tanzan. "Are you still carrying her?”
― Nyogen Senzaki and Paul Reps, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings

“Whatever the problem, be part of the solution. Don’t just sit around raising questions and pointing out obstacles.”
― Tina Fey, Bossypants