"Look to the essence of a thing, whether it be a point of doctrine, of practice, or of interpretation." (Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations", cca. 121–180 AD)
"Thus the Truth it [Zen] teaches, both in substance and appearance, perfects the relationships of master and disciple. In its rules of action and discipline, there is no confusion of right and wrong. [...] Studying it, one discovers the key to all forms of Buddhism; practicing it, one's life is brought to fulfillment in the attainment of enlightenment. Outwardly it favors discipline over doctrine, inwardly it brings the Highest Inner Wisdom. This is what the Zen sect stands for." (Myōan Eisai, "Kōzen gokokuron" ["The Promotion of Zen for the Protection of the Country"], cca 12th century)
"This is the first stage of inspiration; you can discern the source of eighty thousand doctrines, with their limitless subtle meanings, all at once. As one becomes, all become; as one decays, all decay - nothing is lacking, no principle is not complete." (Hakuin Ekaku, "The Four Ways of Knowing", 18th century)
"Let the churches preach doctrines, theories, philosophies to their hearts' content, but when it comes to worship, the real practical part of religion, it should be as Jesus says, 'When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret'" (Swami Vivekananda, "Ishta", [lecture] 1895)
"Here lies the secret. Says Patanjali, the father of Yoga, 'When a man rejects all the superhuman powers, then he attains to the cloud of virtue.' He sees God. He becomes God and helps others to become the same. This is all I have to preach. Doctrines have been expounded enough. There are books by the million. Oh, for an ounce of practice!" (Swami Vivekananda, 1895)
"So long as the bee is outside the petals of the lily, and has not tasted the sweetness of its honey, it hovers around the flower emitting the buzzing sound; but when it is inside the flower, it noiselessly drinks the nectar. So long as a man quarrels and disputes about doctrines and dogmas, he has not tasted the nectar of true faith; when he has tasted it, he becomes quiet and full of peace." (Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita, "Râmakrishna: His Life and Sayings", 1898)
"Buddha's doctrine: Man suffers because of his craving to possess and keep forever things which are essentially impermanent [...] this frustration of the desire to possess is the immediate cause of suffering." (Alan Watts, "The Spirit of Zen: A Way of Life, Work and Art in the Far East", 1936)
"Styles tend to not only separate men - because they have their own doctrines and then the doctrine became the gospel truth that you cannot change. But if you do not have a style, if you just say: Well, here I am as a human being, how can I express myself totally and completely? Now, that way you won't create a style, because style is a crystallization. That way, it's a process of continuing growth." (Bruce Lee, [TV show] 1971)
"Kannagara is a way of intuition. There are no written laws, no strict doctrines of right or wrong. The only laws are the laws which govern natural phenomena and promote harmony. Kannagara is a way of supreme freedom, for the action appropriate to function in harmony with nature occurs spontaneously." (Mitsugi Saotome, "Aikido and the Harmony of Nature", 1993)
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