Zen is not a philosophy, it is poetry. It does not propose, it simply persuades. It does not argue, it simply sings its own song.

Man is always exploited through fear.

Marriage is a totally different phenomenon: it is the climax of love. Then it is good. I am not against marriage - I am for the REAL marriage. I am against the false, the pseudo, that exists. But it is an arrangement. It gives you a certain security, safety, occupation. It keeps you engaged. Otherwise, it gives you no enrichment, it gives you no nourishment.

When you feel expansion of your consciousness, that is the most ecstatic experience possible, because suddenly you are the whole universe. Stars are within you. The sun rises within you and sets within you. The earth moves within you. The flowers blossom within you.

Hence my insistence that music and meditation should go together. That adds a new dimension to both. Both are enriched by it.

Friendship is a relationship, friendliness is a state of your being. You are simply friendly; to whom, that is not the point. . .

In the East, all the religions preach egolessness. So in the East, everybody is against the ego from the very beginning.