Zen wants us to acquire an entirely new point of view whereby to look into the mysteries of life and the secrets of nature. This is because Zen has come to the definite conclusion that the ordinary logical process of reasoning is powerless to give final satisfaction to our deepest spiritual needs.

The waters are in motion, but the moon retains its serenity.

Personal experience, therefore, is everything in Zen. No ideas are intelligible to those who have no backing of experience.

To be a good Zen Buddhist it is not enough to follow the teaching of its founder; we have to experience the Buddha's experience.

Zen purposes to discipline the mind itself, to make it its own master, through an insight into its proper nature. This getting into the real nature of one's own mind or soul is the fundamental object of Zen Buddhism. Zen, therefore, is more than meditation and Dhyana in its ordinary sense. The discipline of Zen consists in opening the mental eye in order to look into the very reason of existence.

The meaning of service is to do the work assigned ungrudgingly and without thought of personal reward material or moral.

Zen teaches nothing; it merely enables us to wake up and become aware. It does not teach, it points.