Home / Books / The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk

The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk

Book by Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki · 4 quotes · Zen, Asceticism, Bedding

Browse quotes from The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk.

Book detail: The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk is presented as a focused source page for quotations connected with this book, collection, transcript, or source record.

Browse quotes from The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk.

The quotes below use the same card format as the rest of the site, including topics, source notes, copy actions, image creation, and sharing controls.

Filter quotes by topic

All Zen Asceticism Bedding Bowl Elite Environment Future Humility Meals Nature Religion Robe Science Sleep Society Study Zendo

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