Shunryu Suzuki
Leader
1904-05-18
Quotes by Shunryu Suzuki
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To die is more important than trying to be alive. When we try to be alive, we have trouble. Rather than trying to be alive or active, if we can be calm and die or fade away into emptiness, then naturally we will be all right.
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In your very imperfections you will find the basis for your firm, way-seeking mind.
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Christopher McCandless:I will miss you too, but you are wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from the joy of human relationships. God's place is all around us, it is in everything and in anything we can experience. People just need to change the way they look at things.
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Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine.
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In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few
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A student, filled with emotion and crying, implored, Why is there so much suffering?Suzuki Roshi replied, No reason.
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I discovered that it is necessary, absolutely necessary, to believe in nothing. That is, we have to believe in something which has no form and no color--something which exists before all forms and colors appear... No matter what god or doctrine you believe in, if you become attached to it, your belief will be based more or less on a self-centered idea.
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In your very imperfections you will find the basis for your firm, way-seeking mind.
Read quote -
Christopher McCandless:I will miss you too, but you are wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from the joy of human relationships. God's place is all around us, it is in everything and in anything we can experience. People just need to change the way they look at things.
Read quote -
I discovered that it is necessary, absolutely necessary, to believe in nothing. That is, we have to believe in something which has no form and no color--something which exists before all forms and colors appear... No matter what god or doctrine you believe in, if you become attached to it, your belief will be based more or less on a self-centered idea.
Read quote -
To die is more important than trying to be alive. When we try to be alive, we have trouble. Rather than trying to be alive or active, if we can be calm and die or fade away into emptiness, then naturally we will be all right.
Read quote -
In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few
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Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine.
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A student, filled with emotion and crying, implored, Why is there so much suffering?Suzuki Roshi replied, No reason.
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Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure. But unfortunately, although it is true, it is difficult for us to accept it. Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer.
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There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen.
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In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind there are few.
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