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We do not exist for the sake of something else. We exist for the sake of ourselves.

Shunryu Suzuki

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Shunryu Suzuki
Age: 67 †
Born: 1904
Born: May 18
Died: 1971
Died: December 4
Bhikkhu
Leader
Missionary
Philosopher
Writer
Atlanta
Georgia
Sake
Exist
Else
Something

More quotes by Shunryu Suzuki

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When you do something, you should burn yourself up completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.
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Instead of criticizing, find out how to help.
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Life without zazen is like winding your clock without setting it. It runs perfectly well, but it dosen't tell time.
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The seed has no idea of being some particular plant, but it has its own form and is in perfect harmony with the ground, with its surroundings ... and there is no trouble. This is what we mean by naturalness.
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For Zen students a weed is a treasure. With this attitude, whatever you do, life becomes an art.
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Zen is not some fancy, special art of living. Our teaching is just to live, always in reality, in its exact sense. To make our effort, moment after moment, is our way.
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After you have practiced for a while, you will realize that it is not possible to make rapid, extraordinary progress. Even though you try very hard, the progress you make is always little by little.
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Instead of respecting things, we want to use them for ourselves and if it is difficult to use them, we want to conquer them.
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When we become truly ourselves, we just become a swinging door, and we are purely independent of, and at the same time, dependent upon everything.
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You see something or hear a sound, and there you have everything just as it is. [...] Whatever you do, it should be an expression of the same deep activity. We should appreciate what we are doing. There is no preparation for something else.
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The true practice to meditation is to sit as if you where drinking water when you are thirsty.
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Only when you understand people, they may understand you. So even though you do not say anything, if you understand people there is some communication.
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If it is raining out, do not walk fast, because it is raining everywhere.
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Our practice should be based on the ideal of selflessness. Selflessness is very difficult to understand. If you try to be selfless, that is already a selfish idea. Selflessness will be there when you do not try anything.
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When you sit, everything sits with you.
Shunryu Suzuki
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If you want to enjoy the movie, you should know that it is the combination of film and light and white screen, and that the most important thing is to have a plain, white screen.
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If you want to study Zen, you should forget all your previous ideas and just practice zazen and see what kind of experience you have in your practice. That is naturalness.
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The highest truth is daiji, translated as dai jiki in Chinese scriptures. This is the subject of the question the emperor asked Bodhidharma: What is the First Principle? Bodhidharma said, I don't know. I don't know is the First Principle.
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Enlightenment is not a complete remedy.
Shunryu Suzuki
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Time goes from present to past.
Shunryu Suzuki