Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

‘We all talk about liking this person and disliking that person, but our likes and dislikes are constantly changing. We are sometimes happy, sometimes sad, but there is no permanent identity that is always happy or always sad. We cannot depend on our mind to remain the same. But we misunderstand this and are unable to be present for this very moment.

Our thoughts are like the ripples in a pond. When the ripples are strong, we cannot see to the bottom. Because we carry around our past conditioning, our opinions, our attachments, we are muddying the waters of our mind. When we are stuck in the past or thinking about the future, there is no fresh perception, no wonder, no joy. Just as the water clears when the pond is still, when we see the present directly, our mind is clear. This is a healthy state of mind.’ (Not One Single Thing)