From the first, in people and in things, there is no such thing as trash. These words point to the fundamental truth of Buddhism, a truth I could not as yet conceive in those days.

Reporting on receiving his first sermon from Gotō Zuigan, in Novice to Master : An Ongoing Lesson in the Extent of My Own Stupidity (2002), p. 29; "There Is No Trash" — online excerpt published in Ashé Journal, Vol 4, Issue 2 (Summer 2005), p. 227-230.