Constancy - Shunryu Suzuki> From Daily Zen
The message for us today is ?Cultivate your own spirit.? It means not to go seeking for something outside yourself. This is a very important point, and it is the only way to practice Zen. Of course, studying scriptures or reciting the sutras or sitting is Zen; each of these activities should be Zen. But if your effort or practice does not have the right orientation, it will not work at all. Not only will it not work, but it may spoil your pure nature. Then the more you know about Zen, the more you will become spoiled. Your mind will be filled with rubbish; your mind will be stained.