So, what do you think?
Correcting your posture and focusing on only one thing—that in itself is a pretty rare experience. People usually eat candy without giving it much thought, but even a single piece of candy holds a world of possibilities. That’s because even a simple piece of candy can allow you to experience Zen Buddhism.

In our Zen Buddhist training, we only ever focus on one thing. Even while cleaning, we drive out extraneous thoughts and focus only on the task in at hand. While eating—only eating. This allows us to better understand the flavor and sweetness of the food, compared to eating while watching television or talking. In our daily activities, whether just sitting or standing, concentrating on the current activity is Zen Buddhist training. This is why we started our Zen journey with the experience of eating candy.

It’s said that experience is everything in Zen Buddhism. But why is experience so important? Because all objects of this world require you to decipher them. Hearing things from others and experiencing them yourself are different, perhaps. But, then again, perhaps they are the same. It’s hard to say. All things pass through us before we actually sense them.

For example, you see a mountain. Sometimes it's beautiful to you, but in difficult times, you might not even notice it. Everything depends on the self. To do this, it is necessary to solve the mystery of one’s self, but to do that, we must first know the self. That is why it is necessary to experience, pursue, and understand for oneself how something feels. This sort of "inner trip" is everything; nothing is more important than discovering oneself through experience.

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