If you harbor suspicion for everything, you may feel depressed. Since all the things you guess are just conjecture, how can your suspicion ever be resolved? This is the cause of your discontentment. A person with sincere intention [instead] allows the mind to realize the mistakes of the ego’s delusions. This is done through looking into a mirror of uncahngeable wisdom. Reflecting the mind in this mirror, you can see your own delusions.

Soshin (Abbess; 1588 – 1675)

Uit: Zen Women – Beyond Tea Ladies, Iron Maidens, and Macho Masters, Grace Schireson, Wisdom Publishers, Somerville, 2009; p.112-113.
Afbeelding: Maria Helena Vieira da Silva, Passage of the Mirrors, 1981.
Over het boek: This landmark presentation at last makes heard the centuries of Zen’s female voices. Through exploring the teachings and history of Zen’s female ancestors, from the time of the Buddha to ancient and modern female masters in China, Korea, and Japan, Grace Schireson offers us a view of a more balanced Dharma practice, one that is especially applicable to our complex lives, embedded as they are in webs of family relations and responsibilities, and the challenges of love and work.