Failure and Zen Practice

Failure is actually a most important aspect of Zen practice, because when you truly fail, at that moment you stop relating to practice as something that is going to get you somewhere. And even in the midst of your failure, if you continue to practice rather than giving up and throwing the whole thing out of the window, then practice becomes your way of life. In fact, practice becomes your life. Practice just becomes practice. Out of that, the spirit of compassionate activity also is born, because if you truly embrace what failure is, the heart of kindness begins to emerge. If you cannot face your own failure, then it is difficult to face the failings of anyone else.
– Zen Master Wu Kwang “Elegant Failure”