Questions to Master Deshimaru

Question

When you know that you have faults, bad features, is it better to combat them deliberately or forget about them in silence and let them change automatically?

Answer

Both. Westerners are forever inventing distinctions and creating dualism, but in reality both attitudes are necessary. To want to change deliberately is to have a goal and that is futile. At the first obstacle, you stumble. Sometimes, however, it is good to have a goal. If you want to understand truly and profoundly, you must have nothing. Practice shikantaza. If you are continually struggling to achieve something, you will become like an ascetic, a hermit in the mountains. That is just another. form of egotism. If you continue to practice zazen you will be beyond qualities and defects. Like the painter, you have to let go of your ego in order to produce a masterpiece. Concentrate without any goal here and now, and do not make a goal of wanting to change.