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There are many famous Zen sayings about mountains … such as this by the Tang Dynasty teacher, Ch’ing-yüan Wei-hsin (J. Seigen Ishin):

老僧三十年前未參禪時、
見山是山、見水是水、及至後夾親見知識、
有箇入處、見山不是山、見水不是水、
而今得箇體歇處、依然見山
秪是山、見水秪是水

Before I had studied Zen for thirty years, I saw mountains as mountains, and waters as waters. When I arrived at a more intimate knowledge, I came to the point where I saw that mountains are not mountains, and waters are not waters. But now that I have got its very substance I am at rest. For it’s just that I see mountains once again as mountains, and waters once again as waters

He went on to ask, “Do you think these three understandings are the same or different?”
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Sitting in balance in the mountain-still state, “Think the concrete state of not thinking.” “How can the state of not thinking be thought?” “It is different from thinking.” This is the secret of sitting-Zen. [NISHIJIMA]

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