--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To an experienced Zen Buddhist, asking if…" description: "\"To an experienced Zen Buddhist, asking if one believes in Zen or one believes in the Buddha, sounds a little ludicrous, like asking if one believes in ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/robert-m-pirsig-817_air_to-an-experienced-zen-buddhist-asking-if_525034.png" --- # To an experienced Zen Buddhist, asking if one believes in… ![“To an experienced Zen Buddhist, asking if one believes in Zen or one believes in the Buddha, sounds a little ludicrous, like asking if one believes in air or water. Similarly Quality is not something you believe in, Quality is something you experience.” quote by Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/robert-m-pirsig-817_air_to-an-experienced-zen-buddhist-asking-if_525034.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/robert-m-pirsig-817_air_to-an-experienced-zen-buddhist-asking-if_525034.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/robert-m-pirsig-817_air_to-an-experienced-zen-buddhist-asking-if_525034.png) > “To an experienced Zen Buddhist, asking if one believes in Zen or one believes in the Buddha, sounds a little ludicrous, like asking if one believes in air or water. Similarly Quality is not something you believe in, Quality is something you experience.” [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Zen and quality are not abstract beliefs but lived experiences, like air or water, essential and undeniable. **In simple terms:** Zen and quality are experienced, not believed. Key Takeaway Live the experience of quality. Themes philosophy mindfulness quality Mood contemplative calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily meditation - craftsmanship - teaching - personal growth Key Concepts Zen quality experience epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How do you notice quality in everyday tasks? - Can you describe a moment of pure experience? A Different Perspective Quality can be hard to articulate, leading to misunderstanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Buddhist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Unity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unity/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [Zen buddhist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zen-buddhist/) [Zen motorcycle maintenance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zen-motorcycle-maintenance/) ## Related quotes > [Zen is the spirit of a man. Zen believes in his inner purity and goodness. Whatever is superadded or violently torn away, injures the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-t-suzuki/zen-is-the-spirit-of-a-man-zen-believes-in-his-inner-purity-and/) [D.T. Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-t-suzuki/) > [“However, it should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice. It’s not very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/however-it-should-in-no-way-be-associated-with-that-great-body-of/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/the-whole-moon-and-the-entire-sky-are-reflected-in-one-dewdrop-on-the/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [And finally, be assured that Zen asks nothing even as it promises nothing. One can be a Protestant Zen Buddhist, a Catholic Zen Buddhist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/and-finally-be-assured-that-zen-asks-nothing-even-as-it-promises/) [Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) > [Concentrate the mind on the present moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/concentrate-the-mind-on-the-present-moment/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [According to Zen Buddhist cosmology there are ten thousand different states of mind to view and understand life through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/according-to-zen-buddhist-cosmology-there-are-ten-thousand-different/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [To say one is revolutionary is a little like saying one is a Zen Buddhist - if you say you are, you probably aren't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/to-say-one-is-revolutionary-is-a-little-like-saying-one-is-a-zen/) [Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/) > [There is a director who should make 'Silver Surfer' - he is mentally committed to it. He's doing another movie now. What's most important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-arad/there-is-a-director-who-should-make-silver-surfer-he-is-mentally/) [Avi Arad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-arad/) > [Before I had studied Zen for thirty years, I saw mountains as mountains, and waters as waters. When I arrived at a more intimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-ching-yuen/before-i-had-studied-zen-for-thirty-years-i-saw-mountains-as/) Li Ching-Yuen > [What you think you become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/what-you-think-you-become/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [With the near-death or clinical near-death phenomenon some people who are brought back from 'death' have reported being alive the entire time they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ankerberg/with-the-near-death-or-clinical-near-death-phenomenon-some-people-who/) John Ankerberg > [Where can I find a man who has forgotten words, so I can have a few words with him?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/where-can-i-find-a-man-who-has-forgotten-words-so-i-can-have-a-few/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [If you exchanged wedding vows, tape them to your bathroom mirror and read them aloud to yourself every morning along with the ritual brushing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-lerner/if-you-exchanged-wedding-vows-tape-them-to-your-bathroom-mirror-and/) [Harriet Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-lerner/) > [There's something Zen-like about the way I work - it's like raking gravel in a Zen Buddhist garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/there-s-something-zen-like-about-the-way-i-work-it-s-like-raking/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [“Steve Jobs, for instance, adopted the Zen Buddhist concept of “beginner’s mind,” the ability to see a situation as if for the first time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/steve-jobs-for-instance-adopted-the-zen-buddhist-concept-of-beginner/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Robert M. Pirsig > [“And from time to time you find your “county road” takes you onto a two-rutter and then a single rutter and then into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/and-from-time-to-time-you-find-your-county-road-takes-you-onto-a-two/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“I started to roll over for more sleep but heard a rooster crowing and then became aware we are on vacation and there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/i-started-to-roll-over-for-more-sleep-but-heard-a-rooster-crowing-and/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-buddha-the-godhead-resides-quite-as-comfortably-in-the-circuits/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Even though quality cannot be defined, you know what quality is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/even-though-quality-cannot-be-defined-you-know-what-quality-is/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [I suppose philosophy is historically not a woman's game, though that is changing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/i-suppose-philosophy-is-historically-not-a-woman-s-game-though-that/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Up until my first book was published, I had all this potential, people would say, and I screwed up. After it, I could say:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/up-until-my-first-book-was-published-i-had-all-this-potential-people/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [There is a perennial classical question that asks which part of the motorcycle, which grain of sand in which pile, is the Buddha. Obviously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/there-is-a-perennial-classical-question-that-asks-which-part-of-the/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“Of the value traps, the most widespread and pernicious is value rigidity. This is an inability to revalue what one sees because of commitment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/of-the-value-traps-the-most-widespread-and-pernicious-is-value/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“Historically mystics have claimed that for a true understanding of reality metaphysics is too “scientific”. Metaphysics is not reality. Metaphysics is names about reality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/historically-mystics-have-claimed-that-for-a-true-understanding-of/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“What’s emerging from the pattern of my own life is the for belief that the crisis is being caused by the inadequacy of existing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/what-s-emerging-from-the-pattern-of-my-own-life-is-the-for-belief/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [To speak of certain government and establishment institutions as 'the system' is to speak correctly . . . They are sustained by structural relationships…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/to-speak-of-certain-government-and-establishment-institutions-as-the/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [If a revolution destroys a systematic government, but the systematic patterns of thought that produced that government are left intact, then those patterns will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/if-a-revolution-destroys-a-systematic-government-but-the-systematic/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-only-zen-you-can-find-on-the-tops-of-mountains-is-the-zen-you/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Only social patterns can control biological patterns, and the instrument of conversation between society and biology is not words. The instrument of conversation between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/only-social-patterns-can-control-biological-patterns-and-the/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Even in the presence of others he was completely alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/even-in-the-presence-of-others-he-was-completely-alone/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Explore all 351 Robert M. Pirsig quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) ## More Air quotes > [I will be a tireless advocate for our District's defense priorities including Sheppard Air Force Base, Pantex, Bell Helicopter, universities conducting important research, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/i-will-be-a-tireless-advocate-for-our-district-s-defense-priorities/) [Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If U.S. air, naval, missile, and ground forces were not in and around Korea, and if we were not treaty-bound to fight alongside South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-u-s-air-naval-missile-and-ground-forces-were-not-in-and-around/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [I'm a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can't see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [There was a little nook on Air Force Two that contained the vice presidential seal, and I would sort of wedge myself in there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-biden/there-was-a-little-nook-on-air-force-two-that-contained-the-vice/) [Jill Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-biden/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) > [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/a-s-you-partake-of-the-world-s-bill-of-fare-that-s-darned-good-advice/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“It is unnatural to fear something natural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/it-is-unnatural-to-fear-something-natural/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) Browse all 6,278 Air quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To an experienced Zen Buddhist, asking if one believes in Zen or one believes in the Buddha, sounds a little ludicrous, like asking if one believes in air or water. Similarly Quality is not something you believe in, Quality is something you experience.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. Pirsig" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/to-an-experienced-zen-buddhist-asking-if-one-believes-in-zen-or-one/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Air" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/to-an-experienced-zen-buddhist-asking-if-one-believes-in-zen-or-one/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/robert-m-pirsig-817_air_to-an-experienced-zen-buddhist-asking-if_525034.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/robert-m-pirsig-817_air_to-an-experienced-zen-buddhist-asking-if_525034.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/robert-m-pirsig-817_air_to-an-experienced-zen-buddhist-asking-if_525034.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To an experienced Zen Buddhist, asking if one believes in Zen or one believes in the Buddha, sounds a little…” — Robert M. Pirsig", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert M. Pirsig", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To an experienced Zen Buddhist, asking...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/to-an-experienced-zen-buddhist-asking-if-one-believes-in-zen-or-one/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/to-an-experienced-zen-buddhist-asking-if-one-believes-in-zen-or-one/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```