Quotessence
Home / Authors / Shunryu Suzuki
Shunryu Suzuki

Shunryu Suzuki Quotes

Author

Filter quotes by topic

AllIfsMindPracticeWayZenShouldTryingMomentsIdeasMeditationEnlightenmentThinkingActivityAcceptingBuddhismSelfWorldBeginnersImportantTeaching

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
Create image

“The practice of Zen mind is beginner's mind. The innocence of the first inquiry—what am I?—is needed throughout Zen practice. The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all the possibilities. It is the kind of mind which can see things as they are, which step by step and in a flash can realize the original nature of everything.”

MindFirstsKindNatureRealizingAcceptingStepsPracticeDoubtPossibilityReadyNeededHabitEmptyOriginalsInnocenceExpertsEmptinessFlashInquiryBeginners
Book:Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
Create image

“When you sit in the full lotus position, your left foot is on your right thigh and your right foot is on your left thigh. When we cross our legs like this, even though we have a right leg and a left leg, they become one. The position expresses the oneness of duality: not two and not one. This is the most important teaching: not two, and not one. Our body and mind are not two and not one. If you think your body and mind are two, that is wrong; if you think that they are one, that is also wrong. Our body and mind are both two and one.”

IfsThinkingMindTwoImportantBodyLeftFeetTeachingPositionCrossesLegsYour BodyOnenessMind And BodyDualityThighsLotuses
Author:Shunryu Suzuki
Create image

“So the most difficult thing is always to keep your beginner's mind. There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen. Even though you read much Zen literature, you must read each sentence with a fresh mind. You should not say, "I know what Zen is," or "I have attained enlightenment." This is also the real secret of the arts: always be a beginner. Be very very careful about this point. If you start to practice zazen, you will begin to appreciate your beginner's mind. It is the secret of Zen practice.”

IfsKnowsNeedsShouldMindArtRealLiteratureDifficultUnderstandingSecretPracticeEnlightenmentAppreciateCarefulSentencesDifficult ThingsBeginnersAppreciate YouDeep Understanding
Author:Shunryu Suzuki
Create image

“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
Create image

“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
Create image

“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
Create image

“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
Create image

“In Japan we have the phrase, "Shoshin," which means "beginner's mind." Our "original mind" includes everything within itself. It is always rich and sufficient within itself. This does not mean a closed mind, but actually an empty mind and a ready mind. If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything. It is open to everything. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind there are few.”

IfsMindMeanDoeRichPossibilityReadyEmptyOriginalsPhrasesExpertsSufficientEmptinessJapanOriginalityBeginnersClosed MindEmpty Mind
Author:Shunryu Suzuki
Create image

“In the beginner's mind there is no thought, "I have attained something." All self-centered thoughts limit our vast mind. When we have no thought of achievement, no thought of self, we are true beginners. Then we can really learn something. The beginner's mind is the mind of compassion. When our mind is compassionate, it is boundless. Dogen-zenji, the founder of our school, always emphasized how important it is to resume our boundless original mind. Then we are always true to ourselves, in sympathy with all beings, and can actually practice.”

MindImportantSelfSchoolCompassionPracticeLimitsAchievementOriginalsCompassionateFoundersSelf CenteredBoundlessResumesBeginners
Book:Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
Create image