Question
How can I be awake (aware of everything) and think of nothing (be empty) at the same time?
To me, this is a contradiction I cannot resolve.
Anonymous
Answer from Master Kosen
This is the awakened condition of zazen: without thinking. In fact, we are always thinking, from birth to death, and human beings are completely drugged, intoxicated by their thoughts. As long as we remain in our thoughts, we create an illusory reality, and when we stop our thoughts, when we think of nothing, at that moment we see reality in its entirety for the first time.
Kosen