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" Религия ли е Дзен? Дзен не е религия в общоприетия смисъл на думата, защото в Дзен няма Бог, пред който да се прекланяме, няма обреди и церемонии, които да спазваме, няма отвъдна обител за мъртвите, и най-сетне, в Дзен няма душа, за чието благополучие да отговаря друг, за чието безсмъртие да се грижат хората. Дзен ще рече освободеност от цялото това бреме на догми и религиозни вярвания. "
― D.T. Suzuki , An Introduction to Zen Buddhism
37
" When Tanka (Tan-hsia) of the T'ang dynasty stopped at Yerinji in the Capital, it was severely cold; so taking down one of the Buddha images enshrined there, he made a fire of it and warmed himself. The keeper of the shrine, seeing this, was greatly incensed, and exclaimed:
"How dare you burn my wooden image of the Buddha?"
Tanka began to search in the ashes as if he were looking for something, and said:
"I am gathering the holy sariras* from the burnt ashes." "How," said the keeper, "can you get sariras from a wooden Buddha?"
Tanka retorted, "If there are no sariras to be found in it, may I have the remaining two Buddhas for my fire?"
* Sarira (shari in J. and she-li in C.) literally means the "body", but in Buddhism it is a kind of mineral deposit found in the human body after cremation. The value of such deposits is understood by the Buddhists to correspond to the saintliness of life. "
― D.T. Suzuki , An Introduction to Zen Buddhism
40
" Jesus said, "When thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth; that thine alms may be in secret." This is the "secret virtue" of Buddhism. But when the account goes on to say that "Thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee", we see a deep cleavage between Buddhism and Christianity. As long as there is any thought of anybody, be he God or devil, knowing of our doings and making recompense, Zen would say, "You are not yet one of us." Deeds that are the product of such thought leave "traces" and "shadows". If a spirit is tracing your doings, he will in no time get hold of you and make you account for what you have done; Zen will have none of it. The perfect garment shows no seams, inside and outside; it is one complete piece and nobody can tell where the work began, or how it was woven. In Zen, therefore, no traces of self-conceit or self-glorification are to be left behind even after the doing of good, much less the thought of recompense, even by God. "
― D.T. Suzuki , An Introduction to Zen Buddhism