An empty mind is not one which is dull, uninformed or uneducated, but one which has known the absolute. "Emptiness" is the same as the absolute, but it is important not to confuse this with a god. In Zen Buddhism, there is no god. Only there is the constant change of the universe and the law of cause and effect. In saying emptiness is the absolute, we mean that an experience of emptiness is to know the absolute reality of the universe and to know that everything is One. Objects are not distinguished between in their reality. An individual who has experienced this truth has entered Nirvana or has become Enlightened as a Buddha. In their daily life, they are not hampered by anything. They are free and yet abide by the utmost concern for the rights of others. When one's mind becomes empty, an awareness of the oneness of all things enters into it, and one no longer is limited by thoughts of self. One then acts with a spontaneous freedom that is in complete harmony with the world of which one is a part. All one's power can be put into each task. Although one lives a daily life in this world, one does so as a Buddha.

- Rev. Soyu Matzuoka, October 27, 1964