Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

‘You should accept knowledge as if you were hearing something you already knew. But this does not mean to receive various pieces of information merely as an echo of your own opinions. It means that you should not be surprised at whatever you see or hear. If you receive things just as an echo of yourself, you do not really see them, you do not fully accept them as they are.’ (Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind)

The Monday study group got to the ‘Constancy’ chapter last week. Although I remembered some of it, I hadn’t remembered the full force of the subtle point he is making here about the Zen mind.