This current interest in Zen Buddhism is mainly an experimental one, that is, a fad. It is merely a symptom of the neurotic's quest for novelty, or a sign that he is driven by instability--seldom by a quest of the Overself. He wants to receive surprise and to feel excitement, which is ironical because the real kingdom of heaven is devoid of both. Zen is also taken up as the next fad in line by the young intelligentsia, the self-conscious poets, the broken-down Bohemians, the fashionable patrons and the thrill-seekers of the theatre and the studio, by whom it is doomed--doomed to be intellectualized. The Spirit is squeezed out, the letter remains. The latter was let in, in a very real sense. Here was something new for them, something that decried their ego yet flattered it extravagantly. Above all, it was magic, witch-doctor stuff that offered a speedy exaggerated reward quite disproportionate to the effort required.
-- Notebooks Category 16: The Sensitives > Chapter 4 : Those Who Seek > # 124
