‘Our zazen practice is to awaken to the reality prior to separation. Ordinarily we see things from one perspective or the other. When we sit, we let go of thoughts and all particular perspectives. We don’t grasp anything. That doesn’t mean that we have to extinguish thought. Thought is always there as we experience our life, even when sitting in this posture. Our mind often seems busier than usual when we sit in a quiet place. In fact, our body and mind are busier and noisier in everyday life, but since the environment is also noisy, we don’t notice the commotion inside ourselves. When we come to a quiet place, however, we hear even the smallest noise. When we sit in the zendo, we can hear the sound of the clock. The sounds our bodies make, coming from within us, become more noticeable, and it seems that our mind is noisier than usual. I think that’s a good sign of our practice. We hear this noise because our mind is beginning to calm down. Of course, we should let go of the internal noise. We should neither cling to nor try to escape from the noise. We should just be awake and let it go. ‘ (Living by Vow)