I don’t like the idea of self-help literature. I write to help me. You can write or read to help yourself.
We all have our likes and dislikes. To follow my desire is a great joy, but what to do about the things that I hate? The worst is to dislike myself, for then anyone can kick me. I might even be mugged by little boys in the street (as in my previous post).
If I dislike something which others like such as our heritage-destroying and politically-corrected public library, let me not nurture negative feelings: unless there is some clear action I can take to right a wrong that I see.
My favourite piece of Zen wisdom comes from its Third Patriarch Seng Ts’an, in a piece entitled On Trust in the Heart:
Let things take their own course,
Knowing the essence can neither go nor stay.
Obey the nature of things,
And you are in concord with the Way,
Calm and easy and free from care. *
Thoughts that are fettered turn from Truth,
Sink into the unwise habit of not liking.
Not liking brings weariness of spirit,
And aversion serves to no purpose.
If you want to follow the doctrine of the One,
Do not reject the world of the senses.
When you are not biased, the world of the senses
Is seen as one with enlightenment.
The wise practise non-interference.
. . . .
To trust in the heart is the not-two,
The not-two is to trust in the heart.
I have spoken – but in vain,
For what words can tell
Of things that have no yesterday,
Tomorrow or today?
. . . .
The whirligigs of Apparent and Void all come from mistaken views;
Try not to seek after the true.
Only cease to cherish opinions.
I have opinions, naturally. Things start to unravel only when I cherish them.
* Or, Let your nature blend with the Way and wander in it free from care.
a wayfarer’s notes 
great post.
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invested interest yields appreciation, the challenge of opinion is that it separates human from natural experience, you hints help me feel reunited.
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this is lovely, thanks for sharing it – I'd not read it before.
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Good words!
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the zen of of a self help post and walking around the the small world
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Hum, I like libraries.
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If you insist on being right, you’re probably wrong.
I'm ok with that.
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I have copied the first two lines – what a wonderful summation of life.
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I read your blog every now and then because My best friend chris allman does. I thoroughly enjoy Zen material culture and I like being reminded of that I do. Just wondering, because you looked up what “go figure” meant and you commented on my use of the term Geworfenheit, but are you a native german speaker? I lived in Germany as a mormon missionary for two years and developed a love for the language as well as Nietszche which might explain why I am no longer in the mormon church.
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No, Isaac, I am a native english speaker who is sensitive to the differences between Yanks & Limeys; and interested in language generally.
We have Mormon missionaries in our local shopping street these days. They hunt in a pair and move in on their victims with a practised smile. And when they approach me, the words of Seng Ts'an are valuable.
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“The wise practice non-interference”
I wish I could embrace this wholeheartedly. But I'm not sure then what to do about injustice. I'm not sure where it leaves the one good man, who must then stay silent as well. Does the wise man let the father beat his child?
Thought-provoking. The calmness of Buddism helped me and one brother long ago, and helps him still; I do like to hear these thoughts again.
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Do you know, I try every DAY to be more Zen-like but then, every day I see people putting themselves in situations that will do them harm and I have to say something: it just bubbles up inside me and before you know it, I've spoken out. Generally people hate me for it. I still am not sure what's the best route to take, but keep on doing it and despite that I do like what you've written here.
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