Zen is not wisdom, it is reality as it is.
Zen is the way of solitude:
To think alone,
To act alone,
To practice alone,
To suffer alone.
Zen has nothing to do with peace or with being “cool.”
Zen is a commitment to never live with eyes closed to the reality of the world.
The solitary individual walks with eyes open wide, depends on no one, and remains true.
Zen is, above all, knowing how to live and how to die.
Zen is not a mold with which to produce Buddhists.
The solitary individual is responsible for their thoughts, their words, and their actions.
No one can breath in their place.
There is no one above them, and no one below.
This is no one and nothing to venerate; no ideology.
The reality of Zen is nothing other than reality as it is.
Only the courageous can practice Zen.
It is the way of the warrior, who moves through the world with eyes open and attention razor-sharp.
This is why in Zen one looks neither for love, nor for wisdom, nor for peace.
These three treasures are already within us, deep down. It is enough to be natural, authentic, and sincere.
How does one reach them?
Through the practice of Zen.
To practice Zen means to follow one’s breathing as it is, with great sincerity and attention.
Do not seek or imagine any Buddha, any heavenly state, any merit, any illumination, or any reward whatsoever.
When one is sincere in one’s breathing and in one’s posture, one is sincere in all things.
When one is true in one’s breathing, one is true in thinking, speaking, and acting.
Do not seek Zen elsewhere, whether in lying publicity, or in the multitude of Buddhist discourses.
Why is it neither a matter of philosophy, nor of psychology, nor of morality, nor of spirituality, nor of religion, and even less of intelligence or personal knowledge?
Why is the posture so important?
Because the true spirit, the true consciousness, resides in the heart of matter.
It is in matter that one finds the answer to our lives.
Not at all in the mist-cloaked summits of so-called spiritual realization.
Why can anyone practice Zen?
Because everyone possesses a material body.
When we awaken to the consciousness of matter, it is possible to liberate ourselves from all constraint and to expand our consciousness beyond our mere habits, our personal knowledge, and our little “I.”
A chick can come into the world only by breaking through its shell. This shell is not spiritual: it is a carapace of matter, built of proteins and all the minerals of the world.
Without matter, there can be no awakening.
Moreover, without practice, all spirituality is but an illusion, a dream, a mental projection.
This posture is neither Zen, nor Buddhist, nor Christian.
It is the liberation of all that you have locked up so tightly in the habits of this body.
In the face of death, no one will save you.
It is time to awaken yourself to reality as it is.
This is the teaching of Zen: authentic, like the sermon of an ever-flowing stream.