Aphorisms on Truth, Time and Memory

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We create needs and then struggle to fulfill them, which is like voluntarily placing our ball in the sand trap.

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Time has always seemed to me to be expansion and contraction. This would account for the cyclical nature of events.

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Only the life based on Truth can bring Ultimate Joy. The life grounded in deception and delusion – no matter how attractive and successful – ultimately results in great and continuous suffering. And yet, there is not one in a thousand who wants Truth. Mostly, we want to reaffirm our status, like the overweight man who visits ten doctors before finding one who will recommend a diet containing all the foods he likes.

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Memory cannot be real since it fades and dies. That which perishes is not Real. Memory is perishable; Reality is not.

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What is the sinner who drinks, blasphemes and has no redeeming feature? He is the teacher of Buddhas.

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The Japanese have their tea ceremonies (chanoyu) as a way to stop the outward flow of everyday life and to introspect for a while. Our way is the ice cream cone break. Have you ever seen anybody look unhappy while eating an ice cream cone? Everybody declares a moratorium on worries while he goes through the ritual of picking the correct flavor and then licking it with a conspiratorial air.

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How wise and beautiful this saying by the great 13th century Japanese Zen Master Dogen Zenji: Spring draws in flowers and flowers draw in Spring.

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Question: “Why must there be Chinese and Indian, French and English? Why must there be different peoples and wars?”

Answer: (by Zen Roshi Joshu Sasaki, holding aloft his fist and slowly unfolding his fingers): “I have five fingers. Why do I have five fingers?”