I think these rules miss the point of Zen. The primary teaching isn't about achieving spiritual perfection by embodying absolute states of mind. It is about f

I think these rules miss the point of Zen. The primary teaching isn't about achieving spiritual perfection by embodying absolute states of mind. It is about finding a middle road between two extremes. For example, although a gigantic ego makes it difficult to cooperate with others, it would not be possible to survive without an ego. The middle road is to find the connection between your ego and the egos of other people. If you think you are selfless and have no ego, the paradox is that you probably have a gigantic ego, because your identity is invested in being spiritually pure. The stuff about "shut up", "stop crying", "there is nothing special about you", and "NEVER stay at a company which does take away the happiness in your life" is similarly unhelpful. Zen teaches us that working with emotions is often more effective than working with thoughts, so if you're crying, that's probably important. In terms of being special, a snowflake is both unique and highly similar to all the others at the same time. It's abusive to focus only on the similarity. And if a company is taking away your "happiness", there's a reasonably good chance that it's an opportunity for you to learn something about yourself before you run away from the situation.