-my grandfather always stressed to me – when we start on spiritual path, we need to forget all we know, we have gained, all the degrees we may have earned, books we have read etc

on spiritual path we again start from 0.

- the person who doesnt know, says he knows.
but the person who knows, knows how little he knows

for me, the more i know, I realize how little I know.

- reminds me of a classic Zen story, where a college professor went to discuss Zen with a Zen master. He said i am phd ….. and want to discuss Zen, why it work etc
Zen master took our tea kettle and started pouring into a cup, and kept pouring and pouring….
until college professor couldnt take it anymore
then zen master said, your mind is like the cup, its full!
what can i show you, if there is no room

-my zen sensei stressed to me, that everything other than zazen is extra. The books, video, dvd etc are all extra. Dont try to be religious, pious, read all the books, sutras. The jewel is within you. Everything else is extra and blah blah blah….

zen even says, take all the books you have and burn them or throw them in garbage – if you meet buddha on the path kill him

Thich Nhat Hanh