From the Fukanzazengi by Master Dogen
A quiet room is recommended for zazen. Eat and drink moderately. Reject every obligation and give up every thing. Do not think: “This is good, that is bad.” Do not take sides, neither for nor against. Stop all movements of the conscious mind. Do not judge thoughts and perspectives. Have no desire to become a Buddha. Zazen has absolutely nothing to do with sitting or lying down… The zazen I am talking about is not the learning of meditation, it is nothing other than the dharma of peace and happiness, the practice-realisation of perfect awakening. Zazen is the expression of the ultimate reality. The traps and the nets can never reach it. Once you have grasped its heart, you are like the dragon when it dives into the water, or like the tiger that returns to its deep forest… This means that it hardly matters whether you are intelligent or not. There is no difference between the clever and the stupid. The effort to concentrate with a single mind is in itself mastering the path. Practice-realisation is pure in nature. Moving forward is a matter of ordinariness… I beg you, dear Zen students, who have long been accustomed to feeling the elephant in the dark, do not fear the true dragon… Your treasure vault will open by itself, and you will be able to make use of it as you please.
