Shunryu Suzuki
Shunryu Suzuki
Shunryu Suzukiwas a Sōtō Zen monk and teacher who helped popularize Zen Buddhism in the United States, and is renowned for founding the first Buddhist monastery outside Asia. Suzuki founded San Francisco Zen Center, which along with its affiliate temples, comprises one of the most influential Zen organizations in the United States. A book of his teachings, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, is one of the most popular books on Zen and Buddhism in the West...
NationalityJapanese
ProfessionLeader
Date of Birth18 May 1904
CountryJapan
You may say that things happen just by chance, but I don't feel that way.
In the Lotus Sutra, Buddha says to light up one corner - not the whole world. Just make it clear where you are.
To have some deep feeling about Buddhism is not the point; we just do what we should do, like eating supper and going to bed. This is Buddhism.
Life without zazen is like winding your clock without setting it. It runs perfectly well, but it dosen't tell time.
We should not be just a fan of dragons; we should always be the dragon himself. Then we will not be afraid of any dragon.
I think you're all enlightened, until you open your mouths.
People who know the state of emptiness will always be able to dissolve their problems by constancy.
Enlightenment is not a complete remedy.
The secret of Soto Zen is just two words: not always so.... In Japanese, it's two words, three words in English. That is the secret of our practice.
If enlightenment comes first, before thinking, before practice, your thinking and your practice will not be self-centered. By enlightenment I mean believing in nothing, believing in something which has no form or no color, which is ready to take form or color. This enlightenment is the immutable truth. It is on this orginal truth that our activity, our thinking, and our practice should be based.
The secret of zen is just two words: not... always... so.
Life is like stepping onto a boat which is about to sail out to sea and sink.
It is wisdom that is seeking for wisdom.
In reflecting on our problems, we should include ourselves.