So you should accept knowledge as if you were hearing something you already knew. But this does not mean to receive various pieces of information merely as an echo of your own opinions. It means that you should not be surprised at whatever you see or hear. If you receive things just as an echo of yourself, you do not really see them, you do not fully accept them as they are. So when we say, “Rozan is famous for its misty, rainy days,” it does not mean to appreciate this sight by recollecting some scenery we have seen before: “It is not so wonderful. I have seen that sight before.” Or “I have painted much more beautiful paintings! Rozan is nothing!” This is not our way. If you are ready to accept things as they are, you will receive them as old friends, even though you appreciate them with new feeling.

Surely people should eventually cease to be surprised at anything? And yet they continue to be.

Be not astonished at new ideas; for it is well known to you that a thing does not therefore cease to be true because it is not accepted by many.

I know enough of the world now to have almost lost the capacity of being much surprised by anything

But then I’m not easily shocked. I’ve had several friends who drowned or got murdered or died in weird accidents. In Alaska you get used to strange stuff happening.

You should never be surprised when someone treats you with respect, you should expect it.

In your practice you should accept everything as it is, giving to each thing the same respect given to a Buddha.

Perhaps one has to be very old before one learns to be amused rather than shocked.

Why would we ever be surprised when truth turns up in strange places?

If you receive things just as an echo of yourself, you do not really see them, you do not fully accept them as they are.

know what you want. You want a story that won’t surprise you. That will confirm what you already know. That won’t make you see higher or further or differently.

It hadn't shocked the old woman, not much. She had got past being shocked early in life.

when you accept things as they are, it allows you to step into reality. The veil of fantasy that most of us shield ourselves with is torn into pieces and we can deal with things as they actually are, good, bad, or indifferent. The fact of the matter is that the world does not care about you or me, our hopes, our desires, or our dreams. And, the world of dreams, hopes, and desires that is constructed between our ears it is not necessarily a reflection of what is actually going on around us.

Don't sound so surprised. I have sensible moments, you know.