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The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk

Book by Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki · 9 quotes · Zen, Asceticism, Bedding

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The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk Quotes

“As Zen is a discipline and not a philosophy, it directly deals with life; and this is where Zen has developed its most characteristic features.”

Book:The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk

Source: The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk

“To regard Zen as a form of asceticism and nothing more will be a grievous mistake. What Zen aims at is to reduce the claims of the body to a minimum in order to divert their course to a higher realm of activities. To torture the body is not its object, nor is it its object to gain merit and thereby to lay one's fortune in heaven.”

Book:The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk

Source: The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk

“What properly constitutes the study of Zen in the Zendo life is to study on the one hand the writings or sayings or in some cases the doings of the ancient masters and on the other to practise meditation. This practising is called in Japanese to do zazen, while the studying of the masters consists in attending the discourses given by the teacher of the Zendo known as Rōshi.”

Book:The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk

Source: The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk

“Naturally, there are not many graduates of the Zendo life, and this is indeed in the very nature of Zen; for Zen is meant for the élite, for specially gifted minds, and not for the masses.”

Book:The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk

Source: The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk

“The bedding given to each monk is one broad futon or quilt wadded with cotton-wool, which is about six feet square in size. He wraps himself in this only, even in the midst of the cold winter, and sleeps from 9 p.m. till about 3.30 in the morning. For the pillow he uses a pair of small cushions, each about two feet square, on which during the daytime he sits and keeps up his meditation. As soon as he wakes, the bedding is put up to the common shelf overhead.”

Book:The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk

Source: The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk

“Properly speaking, the Zen monks are supposed to eat only twice a day after the fashion set up by the Buddha in India. The evening meal is, therefore, called yaku-seki, "medicinal food.”

Book:The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk

Source: The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk

“The bowl the monks carry has figured very much in the history of Zen. Together with the "robe" it symbolises priestly authority.”

Book:The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk

Source: The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk

“Modern life seems to recede further and further away from nature, and closely connected with this fact we seem to be losing the feeling of reverence towards nature. It is probably inevitable when science and machinery, capitalism and materialism go hand in hand so far in a most remarkably successful manner. Mysticism, which is the life of religion in whatever sense we understand it, has come to be relegated altogether in the background. Without a certain amount of mysticism there is no appreciation for the feeling of reverence, and, along with it, for the spiritual significance of humility. Science and scientific technique have done a great deal for humanity; but as far as our spiritual welfare is concerned we have not made any advances over that attained by our forefathers. In fact we are suffering at present the worst kind of unrest all over the world.”

Science Religion Nature Environment Society Humility Future

Book:The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk

Source: The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk

“How much sleep is needed for a man to keep himself healthy, strong, and always capable for work is a great problem; it cannot be decided without considering various incidental circumstances besides his own hereditary constitution. But sleep seems to be something that permits much latitude, and discipline or habit can do much to reduce it to its lowest terms.”

Book:The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk

Source: The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk