From the beginning of Chapter 15 ("Intimate Study") of No Beginning, No End: The Intimate Heart of Zen by Jakusho Kwong:

An important part of Zen practice is study. Of course, we study the self through meditation and other activities, but we also study the world, as well as some of the abundant and profound literature that has come out of Zen practice. In each of these ways we are always studying the self. It is a big mistake to think that when we read writings on the lives of some of our ancestors, we're studying about someone besides ourselves, because each phrase, letter, and even the space between the letters is actually pointing toward ourselves. This is the underlying meaning of what we call intimate study. Actually, we might say that intimacy itself is at the heart of all of Zen. When we are intimate with anything, or with everything, we are simultaneously being intimate with ourselves.

Early dawn, when the sky is clear, I can see the stars from my bed. It feels so peaceful and quiet with these bright beings pulsating through the universe. When we're small, we're taught that the sky is over there, far away, so the parents and children feel that they have some idea of where the sky is. But maybe that should be only the beginning idea and parents should also say to their children, "You are part of that sky, and that sky is part of you." In this way parents would be introducing their children to intimacy with the world. ...

(cf. Not Always So (2009-07-04), ...) - ^z - 2017-04-20