Seeing doom and pessimism is easy. Trying to hold optimism and fight is harder. As they say in Hamilton - "Dying is easy, young man. Living is harder." In a world what cruelty is normal, kindness is rebellion and punk.

"We monks don't go near females," he told Tanzan, "especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?"

"I left the girl there," said Tanzan. "Are you still carrying her?
Nyogen Senzaki

Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.

Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he could no longer restrain himself.

The greatest wisdoms are found in the search for wisdom. You have to open yourself to learn lessons on the way to what you think you're supposed to learn.

Dogen expressed this beautifully when he said, “Wisdom is seeking wisdom.” Perhaps we might paraphrase and say that wholeness is in the act of seeking wholeness, self is in the act of seeking self.

- Dogen, Writings of the Great Zen Master

You have to be very careful not to misinterpret analogies or you will go astray.” In other words, we have to be careful not to stick our heads too far into the example and lose sight of the point which is being made.

-Dogen (How to Cook Your Life: From the Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment)

Similarly, if you examine many things with a confused mind, you might suppose that your mind and nature are permanent. But when you practice intimately and return to where you are, it will be clear that there is nothing that has unchanging self.

- Dogen