"THE MOON IN THE WATER; BROKEN AND BROKEN AGAIN, STILL IT IS THERE." - Choshu - “It is almost unbelievable how Zen poets have said things. No other language has been able to rise to such heights. What Choshu is saying:
THE MOON IN THE WATER; BROKEN AND BROKEN AGAIN ... because each time wind comes, a wave comes, the moon is broken in a thousand pieces. But again the lake becomes silent and all the broken pieces all over the lake start gathering again. Because it is a reflection the moon is never broken, it is only the reflection that is broken. And because the moon is never broken, it does not matter that its reflection is broken a thousand times.
All our bodies, all our minds, all our lives are nothing but reflections of the real moon ... broken a thousand times. Still, in the innermost core of your being, the moon is as full and as perfect as ever."
Meditation
"The long drawn out yoga practices will not do for the world; now people do not have days or even hours to spare. We need methods that yield quick results. If a man makes a seven day's commitment, by the end of that period he should begin to feel that something has happened to him. He should become a different man in seven days' time"
"Where tomorrow has become so uncertain it is meaningless to talk in terms of many births. No one is ready to listen. No one does listen. So I say to practice today and feel the result immediately"
"In the world of the bullock cart everything moved slowly, so also meditation moved at a very slow pace. Now it is the jet age; now meditation cannot afford to be slow. It has to pick up speed."
"One thing has to be remembered about meditation; it is a long journey and there is no shortcut. Anyone who says there is a shortcut is befooling you.
It is a long journey because the change is very deep and is achieved after many lives - many lives of routine habits, thinking, desiring. And the mind structure; that you have to drop through meditation. In fact it is almost impossible - but it happens.
A man becoming a meditator is the greatest responsibility in the world. It is not easy. It cannot be instant. So from the beginning never start expecting too much and then you will never be frustrated. You will always be happy because things will grow very slowly.
Meditation is not a seasonal flower which within six weeks is there. It is a very very big tree. It needs time to spread its roots."