Zen is the game of insight, the game of discovering who you are beneath the social masks.

Regarding R. H. Blyth: For translations, the best books are still those by R. H. Blyth. . . .

Regarding R. H. Blyth: Blyth's four volume Haiku became especially popular at this time [1950's] because his translations were based on the assumption that the haiku was the poetic expression of Zen. Not surprisingly, his books attracted the attention of the Beat school, most notably writers such as Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder and Jack Kerouac, all of whom had a prior interest in Zen.

I myself think that to have a cat is more important than to have a Bible.

These are some of the characteristics of the state of mind which the creation and appreciation of haiku demand: Selflessness, Loneliness, Grateful Acceptance, Wordlessness, Non-intellectuality, Contradictoriness, Humor, Freedom, Non-morality, Simplicity, Materiality, Love, and Courage.

Zen is the game of insight, the game of discovering who you are beneath the social masks.

A thief running away like mad from a ferocious watch-dog may be a splendid example of Zen.