Zen is a liberation from time. For if we open our eyes and see clearly, it becomes obvious that there is no other time than this instant, and that the past and the future are abstractions without any concrete reality.

A person who thinks too much only ever thinks about his thoughts

I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is.

Of what use is the universe? What is the practical application of a million galaxies? Yet just because it has no use, it has a use - which may sound like a paradox, but is not. What, for instance, is the use of playing music? If you play to make money, to outdo some other artist, to be a person of culture, or to improve your mind, you are not really playing - for your mind is not on the music. You don't swing. When you come to think of it, playing or listening to music is a pure luxury, an addiction, a waste of valuable time and money for nothing more than making elaborate patterns of sound.

A myth is an image in terms of which we try to make sense of the world.

You can't get wet from the word 'water.'

If you want to stay in a state of illusion, stay in it. But you can always wake up.