saying

On the Activity of Plus and Minus

Teachings of Joshu Sasaki Roshi

Showa

Traditionally attributed

Text

Everything in the universe is the activity of expansion and contraction, of plus and minus. When you breathe in, the whole universe contracts. When you breathe out, the whole universe expands. This is not philosophy—this is the direct experience of zazen. Plus activity and minus activity are not two separate things. They are one activity manifesting in two directions. When you truly understand this, you understand that birth and death, self and other, are one activity. There is nothing to fear and nothing to grasp.

license: fair_use

Attribution

Lineage: Rinzai

By Joshu Sasaki

From Teachings of Joshu Sasaki Roshi

Sources