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Quote by Shunryu Suzuki

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Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice

This book presents a series of informal talks by Shunryu Suzuki, a prominent Zen Buddhist teacher, focusing on the practice of Zen meditation and its principles. Suzuki's teachings emphasize the importance of mindfulness and the beginner's mind, encouraging readers to approach their practice with openness and simplicity. more

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Shunryu Suzuki
Shunryu Suzuki

Shunryu Suzuki, born on May 18, 1904, was a renowned Zen master from Japan. He played a significant role in spreading Zen culture in the Western world. more

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“We can create some information about Buffalo, milk and its nutritional values. We can exchange that information with each other for money, appreciation etc. A monk living alone in jungle doesn't know words such as Buffalo, milk or nutrition. He just wonders, "Green grass enters into this big black thing and a white liquid comes out of it. How!" He can't exchange this wonder with anyone but it transports him to eternity.”

“We don't usually see that there's a third possible logical term equal to yes and no, which is capable of explaining our understanding in an unrecognized direction. We don't even have a term for it, so I'll have to use the Japanese "Mu." Mu means no thing, like quality, it points outside the process of dualistic discrimination. Mu simply says, no class, not one, not zero, not yes, not no. It states that the context of the question is such that a yes or no answer is an error and should not be given. Un-ask the question is what it says. Mu becomes appropriate when the context of the question becomes too small for the truth of the answer.”