Zen thoughts

Zen has always existed in our minds. If you didn't see it there, it might be buried under the struggles with our hetic lives or we simply treated it as an unimportant matter among other desires.

To put it simply, Zen is a total state of focus that incorporates a total togetherness of body and mind.

It barely has any religious aspects. It's not about counseling or spiritual direction, it's nothing like "I have been enlightened, I want you to be enlightened too". It's about practicing to develop a still mind, to learn the inner self and a discipline you want.

Ultimately, Zen is the art of remaining calm with self-awareness in any turbulent situation!

When I was younger, I often asked myself: "What exactly am I living for?" Eventually the answer would be: "to be happy". Many times I wondered about happiness, a true definition of it, how to pursue it? But happiness didn't come easy for me or I just couldn't see it. Only when I stopped searching, then I found happiness. Full of it.

I found Zen.

I realized there's no bad experiences, it's lessons in life that we must pass, learn then let it go. The same goes with mistakes. You have to be able to face your mistakes, learn from it and forgive yourself.

Although I've not really learnt how to stay calm in all circumstances but I handle my angers and negative thoughts better each day. Whenever I face an unexpected situation, I'll take a deep breath to relax my tension, close my eyes for a moment and ask myself: "What am I focusing on now?" Clear my mind and get to the center of the subject that matters, focus on it and drop all the irritated ones, because they just don't matter.

I want to be a better person with a better temperament, to curb the aggressiveness, to let go of anger and negative thoughts, to keep my anxiety in check. It's not an easy journey but I will improve in time. 

"If we think only of ourselves, forget about other people, then our minds occupy very small area. Inside that small area, even tiny problem appears very big. But the moment you develop a sense of concern for others, you realize that, just like ourselves, they also want happiness; they also want satisfaction. When you have this sense of concern, your mind automatically widens. At this point, your own problems, even big problems, will not be so significant. The result? Big increase in peace of mind. So, if you think only of yourself, only your own happiness, the result is actually less happiness. You get more anxiety, more fear."

"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it."

"...Final awareness, lasting freedom, and true psychological equilibrium come only when the deepest intuitional faculties of the human being have been tapped."