Surface is essential and just because, say, politeness, is merely appearance does not make it insincere. If you disturb the surfaces you may lose a lot more than you account. You shouldn't play with rituals. Masks are never simply mere masks.
Surface is of such importance that there is no more powerful symbol of the perfected inner life than that of outward composure. . . . To be neat, proper, and orderly whether in housekeeping, factory routines, personal.
Surface is (in contrast to depth which is shallow and commonplace) a fascinating realm located at the edges of the body and the spirit, the outlying regions, where there is nothing perhaps, save a few ribbons, dangling down into the void.
Surface is, in Japan, of such importance that there is no more powerful symbol of the perfected inner life than that of outward composure. . . . To be neat, proper, and orderly whether in housekeeping, factory routines, personal.
"Wow, that's a lot of water in that lake."Yeh, and that's only the top of it
Surface is all there is. We live amid surfaces, and the true art of life is to skate well on them.
Surface is the level on which all art occurs. Those who go beneath it do so at their peril.
Surface is a level of society whose cultivation influences deeper levels. By first keeping the rules which define the form, even if one's understanding is incomplete or one disagrees with them, that a sincere attitude is eventually born.
Surface is underestimated. The soul is often in the surface. The importance of 'depth' is overestimated.