Practice can be stated very simply. It is moving from a life of hurting
myself and others to a life of not hurting myself and others. That seems
so simple--except when we substitute for real practice some idea that we
should be different or better than we are, or that our lives should be
different from the way they are. When we substitute our ideas about what
/should/ be (such notions as "I should not be angry or confused or
unwilling") for our life as it truly is, then we're off base and our
practice is barren.
-- Charlotte Joko Beck, in /Everyday Zen/
from /Everyday Mind,/ edited by Jean Smith, a /Tricycle/ book
