This is how we know we are in a loving relationship. We are blooming, and the one we love is blooming as well.

When we do not reject our suffering, or add anything to it, pain is simply pain. It is what we add to our pain that turns it into suffering.

What we pay attention to expands. What we pay attention to we become.

Zen practice asks you not to worry about who you 'should' become. Find out who you are right now.

What seems good turns bad, what seems bad turns good. It is an endless cycle.

Do not make this practice a source of pressure, compulsion, anxiety or pride. It is none of these. Zazen is simply a way to find your true home.

The facts of our lives, when we are able to know them, will free us from the torment we are in. When we can bear reality thoroughly, suffering is over. Pain may exist, but it is only pain. Suffering is what we add to pain.