“Better to see the face than to hear the name.”
Today’s daily quote is concise and cannot be deciphered using logic, which is in the spirit of most zen sayings, poems, and koans. Instead we must rely on our wisdom, experience, and the right perspective to understand.
We embrace Zen for it’s focus on our personal experience rather than a history of written words on how to act or think. It has a name only to classify it as a different way of thinking and being.
To “see the face” is to experience the world for ourselves, experience thoughts and feelings for ourselves, and come to our own conclusions. We should still have the right perspective and right mind when experiencing. Just like we should see dirt for the wonderous full-of-life compound that it is rather than just dirty dirt.
To “hear the name” is to hear someone else’s experiences, thoughts, and feelings which we should not accept as our own. Don’t believe these or any other words blindly. Seek out the truth for yourself, but have the right mind when doing so.