Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

‘The Patriarchs and the descendants of the Bodhidharma are not supposed to rely on words and letters. Is that supposed to mean that silence is to be preferred and words are to be avoided? On the contrary, the one thing they want is for students to see that the real truth lies neither in words nor in silence. Once this fact is clear to you, all the teachings of the Buddha and the Patriarchs are matters within your own house. So if you want to understand their teachings, please let go of whatever knowledge and wisdom you may have acquired up until now, and forgetting about yourself entirely, devote yourself completely to the one koan. Those students who are naturally gifted will not only go beyond koan study but will also escape falling into mere silence. They always go straight to the essential. Those are the ones that are unquestionably my disciples. Everything that I have said up until now is for their sake. I am unwilling to teach those scatterbrained students who have no sincere wish for the truth but only a restless urge to collect knowledge. But some who are aware of the unremitting law of cause and effect, and live a modest life, or who try to learn something from Zen monastery life, and practice to make something of their lives, may be able to accomplish a kind of Zen in their own way. I cannot turn aside from such people either.’
(West Mountain Evening Talk)