Zen and spontaneity

Dear Doctor Trinh,
The practice of Zen is very codified, very strict in its form. How to not lose all spontaneity in everyday life? I sometimes have the feeling of behaving like a robot in wanting to reproduce this form of solemnity in my everyday life and with others.

Doctor Dinh Hy Trinh: Dear Sir,
The form of Buddhist practice (not just Zen) depends on the traditions of each school. In some traditions, it seems very strict, well codified; in others, much less. The most important is in fact the content, that is to say the mind and not the form, that is to say the rules, the decor. You do not have to try to reproduce "this form of solemnity", as you say, in daily life, otherwise it would be contrary to the spirit of "letting go", of "emptiness", specific to Zen. . As Master Nánquán said: “The normal mind is the way”.