thoreau

Come said the muse,
Sing me a song no poet has yet chanted,
Sing me the universal.

In this broad earth of ours,
Amid the measureless grossness and the slag,
enclosed and safe within its central heart,
Nestles the seed of perfection.
By every life a share or more or less,
None born but it is born,conceal'd or unconceal'd the seed is.

WALT WHITMAN

"Like Whitman's muse, the ancient Zen masters beckon us to explore our own being, to discover the undiscovered, and in so doing, sing the song of the universal. We live at a time of great challenge and uncertainty, 'amid the measureless grossness and the slog.' Yet, within each of us lives the seed of perfection, the buddha nature. Every single one of us has it, 'by every life a share or more or less.' And although some may realize the buddha nature and some may not, it is nevertheless present, waiting, as Whitman's poem suggests. 'Enclosed and safe within its central heart' is YOUR heart, your journey, your song. Please take it up, and realize the still point as it bursts into flower as this life itself."

- John Daido Loori - from his forward to "The Art of Just Sitting" - March 2002

I've been rereading Shunryū Suzuki writing and advice - from Zen Mind, Beginners Mind and The Art of Just Sitting