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Shunryu Suzuki

Shunryu Suzuki Quotes

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Famous Shunryu Suzuki Quotes

“When we have our body and mind in order, everything else will exist in the right place, in the right way. But usually, without being aware of it, we try to change something other than ourselves; we try to order things outside us. But it is impossible to organize things if you yourself are not in order. When you do things in the right way, at the right time, everything else will be organized.”

IfsWayTryingMindBodyOrderImpossibleOrganizationOrganizedOrganizeRight WayRight TimeMind And BodyRight Place
Book:Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
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“In order not to leave any traces, when you do something, you should do it with your whole body and mind; you should be concentrated on what you do. You should do it completely, like a good bonfire. You should not be a smoky fire. You should burn yourself completely. If you do not burn yourself completely, a trace of yourself will be left in what you do. You should not have any remains after you do something. But this does not mean to forget all about it.”

IfsShouldMindMeanDoeWholeBodyOrderLeftForgetFireRemainsMind And BodyBonfire
Author:Shunryu Suzuki
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“The mind we have when we practice zazen is the great mind: we don't try to see anything; we stop conceptual thinking; we stop emotional activity; we just sit. Whatever happens to us, we are not bothered. We just sit. It is like something happening in the great sky. Whatever kind of bird flies through it, the sky doesn't care. That is the mind transmitted from Buddha to us.”

ThinkingTryingMindKindHappensCarePracticeSkyEmotionalActivityHappeningsBirdBotheredLike SomethingWhatever HappensGreat MindsNot BotheredConceptual Thinking
Book:Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness: Zen Talks on the Sandokai
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“When you are practicing zazen, do not try to stop your thinking. Let it stop by itself. If something comes into your mind, let it come in, and let it go out. It will not stay long. When you try to stop your thinking, it means you are bothered by it. Do not be bothered by anything. It appears as if something comes from outside your mind, but actually it is only the waves of your mind, and if you are not bothered by the waves, gradually they will become calmer and calmer.”

IfsThinkingTryingMindMeanLongWaveLet It GoBotheredCalmerNot Bothered
Book:Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
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