--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I seemed to recall some words from an old…" description: "\"I seemed to recall some words from an old Zen master, something like, \"My Zen cuts down mountains.\" My rejection of Buddhism was a cutting down of moun..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4db/quentin-s-crisp-4149_buddhism_i-seemed-to-recall-some-words-from-an-ol_70385.jpg" --- # I seemed to recall some words from an old Zen master… ![“I seemed to recall some words from an old Zen master, something like, "My Zen cuts down mountains." My rejection of Buddhism was a cutting down of mountains; that is precisely how it felt to me.” quote by Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4db/quentin-s-crisp-4149_buddhism_i-seemed-to-recall-some-words-from-an-ol_70385.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4db/quentin-s-crisp-4149_buddhism_i-seemed-to-recall-some-words-from-an-ol_70385.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4db/quentin-s-crisp-4149_buddhism_i-seemed-to-recall-some-words-from-an-ol_70385.jpg) > “I seemed to recall some words from an old Zen master, something like, "My Zen cuts down mountains." My rejection of Buddhism was a cutting down of mountains; that is precisely how it felt to me.” [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker likens his rejection of Buddhism to a powerful act that dismantles massive obstacles, reflecting an intense personal transformation. **In simple terms:** Rejecting Buddhism feels like demolishing mountains. Key Takeaway Rejection can be a forceful, liberating act. Themes personal transformation spiritual conflict metaphor inner struggle self‑realization Mood defiant reflective Type personal anecdote philosophical reflection When to use this quote - spiritual crisis - identity redefinition - cultural dissonance Key Concepts Zen metaphor psychological release cognitive shift Practical Applications - writing memoirs - therapeutic reflection Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to ‘cut down’ a belief? - How does metaphor shape our perception of change? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Cutting down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting-down/) [Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/) [Rejection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rejection/) [Zen master](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zen-master/) ## Related quotes > [“This was all she needed – a dead guy who talked like some Zen master trying to be her therapist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-minkman/this-was-all-she-needed-a-dead-guy-who-talked-like-some-zen-master/) [Jen Minkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-minkman/) > [“Like a Zen master, she reduced to the essences: I do not need to walk around the Museum of Fine Arts; I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/like-a-zen-master-she-reduced-to-the-essences-i-do-not-need-to-walk/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [Zen cuts straight through the Quidditch match in progress and almost gets taken down by a Beater hurling a Nerf quaffle right at his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/zen-cuts-straight-through-the-quidditch-match-in-progress-and-almost/) [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) > [Regardless of what you want to call it, guys need some type of spirituality they can grab onto. 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You have to let your mind take over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-alcott/golf-is-a-spiritual-game-it-s-like-zen-you-have-to-let-your-mind-take/) [Amy Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-alcott/) > [There are things that I value now that I didn't when I first went over there, like Zen Buddhism, which has become part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-sweet/there-are-things-that-i-value-now-that-i-didn-t-when-i-first-went/) [Matthew Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-sweet/) > [I have a deep-seated distrust and even contempt for people who are driven by ambition to conquer the world … those who cannot control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-leiter/i-have-a-deep-seated-distrust-and-even-contempt-for-people-who-are/) [Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) > [“It's like zen. Only not as subtle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-j-connolly/it-s-like-zen-only-not-as-subtle/) J. J. Connolly > [“We enter a discipline like Zen practice so that we can learn to live in a sane way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-joko-beck/we-enter-a-discipline-like-zen-practice-so-that-we-can-learn-to-live/) [Charlotte Joko Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-joko-beck/) ## More by Quentin S. Crisp > [I have a sense of them being Easter religions, for some reason. Christianity, of course, is a mystery religion, too, and I believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/i-have-a-sense-of-them-being-easter-religions-for-some-reason/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [ If we do want to do that \[ colonise space to survive, \], then vacuous materialism is not going to be enough for us. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/if-we-do-want-to-do-that-colonise-space-to-survive-then-vacuous/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [ This is the strange thing about existing in time. As \[Philip\] Larkin puts it, "truly, though our element is time, we are not used… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/this-is-the-strange-thing-about-existing-in-time-as-philip-larkin/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [I've never been baptised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/i-ve-never-been-baptised/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [It would be hard to say that exactly, but antinatalism is a reality in my life, not just an interesting idea. I can feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/it-would-be-hard-to-say-that-exactly-but-antinatalism-is-a-reality-in/) [Quentin S. 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Hence the 'Fascination'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/this-is-part-of-the-fundamental-character-of-buddhism-that-i-find/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [ I also remember a line from a song by Smog \[Bill Callahan\], which seems to describe the experience of a town-dweller moving to the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/i-also-remember-a-line-from-a-song-by-smog-bill-callahan-which-seems/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [This strong sense of who I am that I've always had, since I was very young, is what makes me write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/this-strong-sense-of-who-i-am-that-i-ve-always-had-since-i-was-very/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [I like the concept of an anti-muse, though I'm not quite sure what that is. 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After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) [Browse all 6,100 Buddhism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I seemed to recall some words from an old Zen master, something like, \"My Zen cuts down mountains.\" My rejection of Buddhism was a cutting down of mountains; that is precisely how it felt to me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Quentin S. 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