Zen: The Path of Paradox, Vol 2

Book excerpt: Zen is unconditionally value-free – if you make a condition, you miss the point. Zen has no fear and no greed. Zen has no God and no Devil, and Zen has no heaven and no hell. It does not make people greedy by alluring them, promising them rewards in heaven. And it does not make people frightened, scared, by creating nightmarish conceptions of hell. It does not bribe you by rewards, and it does not punish you with tortures. It simply gives you an insight to see into things – and that insight frees you. That insight has no greed as a base to it and no fear as a base to it. All other religions are greedy, all other religions are based deep down somewhere in fear. That’s why we use the word ’god-fearing’ for a religious person – a religi-ous person is god-fearing.