Dwelling in a time other than the present starts to churn the ego: anxieties arise, desires become distractions, and to do things well is nearly impossible. But when there is no idea of time, there are no expectations, and desires do not become a problem.

Les Kaye (1933 CE-), Les Kaye is abbot of Kannon Do, a Zen center in Silicon Valley. For more than 30 years, he also worked at IBM in technical and administrative positions. He was ordained as a Zen monk by Shunryu Suzuki in 1971, and he was appointed spiritual leader of Kannon Do in 1982. In 1986, he was recognized as a Zen teacher and a successor in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki.