"Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while peeling potatoes. Zen is just peeling potatoes."

"To understand music, you must listen to it. But so long as you are thinking, “I am listening to this music,” you are not listening."

"Does it really take any considerable time or effort just to understand that you depend on enemies and outsiders to define yourself, and that without some opposition you would be lost? To see this is to acquire, almost instantly, the virtue of humor, and humor and self-righteousness are mutually exclusive."