Yamaoka Tesshu, as a young student of Zen, visited one master after another. He called upon Dokuon of Shokoku.

Desiring to show his attainment, he said: “The mind, Buddha, and sentient beings, after all, do not exist. The true nature of phenomena is emptiness. There is no realization, no delusion, no sage, no mediocrity. There is no giving and nothing to be received.”

Dokuon, who was smoking quietly, said nothing. Suddenly he whacked Yamaoka with his bamboo pipe. This made the youth quite angry.

“If nothing exists,” inquired Dokuon, “where did this anger come from?”

It is natural for technical writers to boast about themselves and their achievements. About their writing prowess, grammar skills, great projects on their resume, reputed companies for whom they have worked etc.

A technical writer needs to keep learning until his/her last breath. You can never think that you have ‘arrived’.  To consider that you have done-it-all and you know-it-all is to stop learning. That is when arrogance sets in.

Not empty talk. Because, “If nothing exists, where did this anger come from?”