self and the unattainable

.

.

… says Butsugen: There are two kinds of disease the Zen students are liable to suffer from these days: 

(1) Seeking for the donkey while riding on one; and 

(2) Once on it, neglecting to get off it.

You may say that the seeking for the donkey while you are already on it is the greater disease. But, I tell you, it does not take a man of great intelligence to become conscious of the stupidity of seeking for the donkey when you are right on it. The more serious one is not to dare come down from the donkey even after realizing that you are on it, for this induces in you a state of self-complacency and makes you go on riding.

The most important thing in the study of Zen is not to keep on riding on the donkey but to realize that you are the donkey itself, and in fact, that the whole universe is the donkey itself.

~ D.T. Suzuki  

from What is Zen? 

thanks to zen books

.