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Shunryu Suzuki

Shunryu Suzuki Quotes

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Famous Shunryu Suzuki Quotes

“Even though you try very hard, the progress you make is always little by little. It is not like going out in a shower in which you know when you get wet. In a fog, you do not know you are getting wet, but as you keep walking you get wet little by little. If your mind has ideas of progress, you may say, 'Oh, this pace is terrible!' But actually it is not. When you get wet in a fog it is very difficult to dry yourself.”

IfsKnowsTryingMindMayLittlesIdeasHardDifficultProgressTerribleWalkingDryPaceWetGoing OutShowersFog
Book:Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
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“Faith is a state of openness or trust...In other words, a person who is fanatic in matters of religion, and clings to certain ideas about the nature of God and the universe, becomes a person who has no faith at all. Instead they are holding tight. But the attitude of faith is to let go, and become open to the truth, whatever it might turn out to be.”

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Author:Shunryu Suzuki
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“And we should forget, day by day, what we have done; this is true non-attachment. And we should do something new. To do something new, of course we must know our past, and this is alright. But we should not keep holding onto anything we have done; we should only reflect on it. And we must have some idea of what we should do in the future. But the future is the future, the past is the past; now we should work on something new.”

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Author:Shunryu Suzuki
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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.”

IfsBelieveIdeasSelfMatterFormBeliefColorNo Matter WhatDoctrineSelf Centered
Book:Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
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“While you are continuing this practice, week after week, year after year, your experience will become deeper and deeper, and your experience will cover everything you do in your everyday life. The most important thing is to forget all gain ing ideas, all dualistic ideas. In other words, just practice zazen in a certain posture. Do not think about anything. Just remain on your cushion without expecting anything. Then eventually you will resume your own true nature. That is to say, your own true nature resumes itself.”

ThinkingYearsImportantIdeasCertainForgetPracticeWeekGainsImportant ThingsEverydayDeeperExpectingContinuingEveryday LifePostureTrue NatureResumesZen BuddhismCushions
Book:Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
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