The aim of Zen training is not ecstasy but Knowledge — of the meaning of birth and death. This Knowledge brings tranquility, equilibrium, and a joyful freedom from self. In Japan I knew an old woman who had practiced Zen for some twenty years. Her friends called her "Sun face," so radiant was her smile, so selfless her presence.
— Philip Kapleau, Awakening to Zen by Polly Young-Eisendrath, editor, Rafe Martin, editor