ment may be burnt out. So an ancient once said, “Attain deliverance in disturbances.”
Don’t expect to finish doing something easily. If you happen to acquire something easily the will is made weaker. So an ancient once said, “Try again and again to complete what you are doing.”
Expect no reward for an act of charity. Expecting something in return leads to a scheming mind. So an ancient once said, “Throw false spirituality away like a pair of old shoes.”
Don’t seek profit over and above what your work is worth. Acquiring false profit makes a fool of oneself. So an ancient once said, “Be rich in honesty.”
Be equal to every hindrance. Buddha attained supreme enlightenment without hindrance. Seekers after truth are schooled in adversity. When they are confronted by a hindrance they can’t be overcome. Then, cutting free, their treasure is great.
The above sayings demonstrate that Zen is useful in modern living, even for American culture. In fact, some of them mirror western ideology that is centuries old. For example, Benjamin Franklin and others of his era practiced and promoted the concepts of charity, hard work and investing one’s riches in one’s knowledge. Further, the last saying listed above about being equal to every hindrance is perfectly suited to goal achievement for people of all ages who try to achieve their goals despite the obstacles that may be in their way. Something as American in culture as Scarlett O’Hara’s line from Gone With The Wind, “Tomorrow is another day,” is similar in concept to the fact that those who practice Zen are schooled in adversity and no hindrance can overcome their efforts toward enlightenment. Zen is also good for self-development because it concerns itself with the individual’s being, the internal realm, which, in Zen is the realm which must be understood for the individual to understand their connection to all individuals, nature and ...