Don't Waste Your Time Thinking About What God is Like

Rev. Master Jiyu her beloved bulldog, Winstina

"Don’t waste time thinking about what God is like. Whatever you imagine that It is, I assure you, is not what you’ll—how can I say this?—I was going to say, “is not what you’ll know”, when you get self out of the way.

That’s not strictly true; what it comes down to is this: we always place upon ourselves our own personal concept of God or the Eternal—something that is much better than us.  But we usually stop short at Something that just is there, and is such perfect love It can tolerate everybody in the world.

I don’t know if you ever saw that really great old comedy, 'The Night They Raided Minsky’s.' There was a lovely line in there where the old Jewish vaudevillian is speaking to the dour Amish father of one of his girls, and they both decide to pray together because, as one of them points out, “Only a God that could tolerate me could possibly tolerate you!”

Now you have to keep this in mind. How can you imagine Something that doesn’t just love, It is unquestioning Love? It makes the rain of compassion to fall on the evil and the good. What is evil; what is good? They are concepts in our minds. It is all right for us to have these concepts as long as we don’t try to put them on the Eternal.

You cannot be judgmental: the most important thing for a Buddhist is not to judge other people. In other words, love God, do your own training; love the Cosmic Buddha, do your own training; love Allah, do your own training. Don’t worry about other people."

An Introduction to Zen: Religious Practice for Everyday Life
Reverend Master Jiyu-Kennett

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