Study the self. By studying the self to the end of the study and beyond, we become intimate with the self. Being intimate with the self, we forget the self. With the self forgotten, all attachments to the body and mind are dropped. Freed from self-clinging, all obstacles to the bodhisativa vows also drop away, and we can finally respond appropriately to the changing world of everyday affairs.--Reb Anderson, "Being Upright"
(Today, I finished Reb's book with the quotation above, which I has my been study guide to the 16 Zen Buddhist precepts and in preparation of my Jukai ceremony, in October, which is similar in spirit to a Catholic confirmation ceremony. At Jukai, I make a formal commitment to live by these precepts in front of my spiritual community and ask for their support in helping me live this way. It has been six years since I formally started studying Zen. What a wonderful journey it has been.)
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