When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.

~Lao Tzu
@GatelessGate

All that is required to become free of the ego is to be aware of it, since awareness and ego are incompatible.

~Eckhart Tolle
@GatelessGate

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912) received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Nan-in saved tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring.
The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. ‘It is overfull. No more will go in!’
‘Like this cup,’ Nan-in said. ‘You are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup? ‘

~Zen Story
@GatelessGate

Most of us are frightened of dying because we don't know what it means to live. We don't know how to live, therefore we don't know how to die. As long as we are frightened of life we shall be frightened of death.

~Jiddu Krishnamurti
@GatelessGate

When one hears the voice, one can sense its source. As soon as the six senses merge, the gate is entered. Wherever one enters one sees the head of the bull! This unity is like salt in water, like color in dyestuff. The slightest thing is not apart from self.

~The Ten Bulls of Zen
@GatelessGate

It is very difficult to sacrifice one's suffering. A man will renounce any pleasures you like but he will not give up his suffering.

~George Ivanovich Gurdjieff
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Whatever he was asked about Zen, Master Gutei simply stuck up one finger.
He had a boy attendant whom a visitor asked, “What kind of teaching does your master give?” The boy held up one finger too. Hearing of this, Gutei cut off the boy’s finger with a knife. As the boy ran away, screaming with pain, Gutei called to him. When the boy turned his head, Gutei stuck up one finger. The boy was suddenly enlightened.
When Gutei was about to die, he said to the assembled monks, “I received this one-finger Zen from Tenryū. I’ve used it all my life but have not exhausted it.” Having said this, he entered nirvana.

💎Zen Kōan💎
@GatelessGate

Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.

~Rumi
@GatelessGate

Twenty monks and one nun, who was named Eshun, were practicing meditation with a certain Zen master.
Eshun was very pretty even though her head was shaved and her dress plain. Several monks secretly fell in love with her.
One of them wrote her a love letter, insisting upon a private meeting.
Eshun did not reply. The following day the master gave a lecture to the group, and when it was over, Eshun arose.
Addressing the one who had written her, she said: ‘If you really love me so much, come and embrace me now.’

~Zen Story
@GatelessGate

Wherever you are is the entry point.

~Kabir
@GatelessGate

He dwelt in the forest a long time, but I caught him today! Infatuation for scenery interferes with his direction. Longing for sweeter grass, he wanders away. His mind still is stubborn and unbridled. If I wish him to submit, I must raise my whip.

~The Ten Bulls of Zen
@GatelessGate

Every addiction arises from an unconscious refusal to face and move through your own pain. Every addiction starts with pain and ends with pain.

~Eckhart Tolle
@GatelessGate

God picks up the reed-flute
world and blows.
Each note is a need coming
through one of us, a passion, a longing pain.
Remember the lips where the wind-breath originated,
and let your note be clear.
Don’t try to end it.

Be your note.

I’ll show you how it’s enough.
Go up on the roof at night in this city of the soul.
Let everyone climb on their roofs
and sing their notes!
Sing loud!

~Rumi
@GatelessGate

"Calm waters of your mind, and the universe and the stars will be reflected in your soul."

~Rumi
@GatelessGate

Your longing for me is my message to you,
All your attempts to reach me,
Are in reality my attempts to reach you.

~Rumi
@GatelessGate

If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?

~Rumi
@GatelessGate

When one thought arises, another thought follows. When the first thought springs from enlightenment, all subsequent thoughts are true. Through delusion, one makes everything untrue. Delusion is not caused by objectivity; it is the result of subjectivity. Hold the nose-ring tight and do not allow even a doubt.

~The Ten Bulls of Zen
@GatelessGate

A martial arts student went to his teacher and said earnestly, “I am devoted to studying your martial system. How long will it take me to master it.”

The teacher’s reply was casual, “Ten years.” Impatiently, the student answered, “But I want to master it faster than that. I will work very hard. I will practice everyday, ten or more hours a day if I have to. How long will it take then?”

The teacher thought for a moment, “20 years.”

~Zen Story
@GatelessGate