The self-conscious brain, like the self-conscious heart, is a disorder, and manifests itself in the acute feeling of separation between “I” and my ex… - Alan Watts

The brain can only assume its proper behavior when consciousness is doing what it is designed for: not writhing and whirling to get out of present experience, but being effortlessly aware of it.

"The morality that
goes with this understanding is, above all, the frank recognition of your
dependence upon enemies, underlings, out-groups, and, indeed, upon all
other forms of life whatsoever. Involved as you may be in the conflicts
and competitive games of practical life, you will never again be able to
indulge in the illusion that the "offensive other" is all in the wrong, and
could or should be wiped out."

The structure of your organism, of your senses and nerves, endows the world with all its sensible and measurable properties — for rocks cannot seem to be hard except in relation to soft skin.

To train yourself in sitting meditation [za-zen] is to train yourself to be a sitting Buddha. If you train yourself in za-zen, (you should know that) Zen is neither sitting nor lying. If you train yourself to be a sitting Buddha, (you should know that) the Buddha is not a fixed form. Since the Dharma has no (fixed) abode, it is not a matter of making choices. If you (make yourself) a sitting Buddha this is precisely killing the Buddha. If you adhere to the sitting position, you will not attain the principle (of Zen).