Quote

Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine.

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
Meditation
Routine
Freedom
Usual
Kind
Concentration
Buddhist
Excitement
Simplicity
Everyday
Kindness

More quotes by Shunryu Suzuki

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When you do something, if you fix your mind on the activity with some confidence, the quality of your state of mind is the activity itself. When you are concentrated on the quality of your being, you are prepared for the activity.
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Life and death are the same thing. When we realize this fact, we have no fear of death anymore, nor actual difficulty in our life.
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Although we have no actual written communications from the world of emptiness, we have some hints or suggestions about what is going on in that world, and that is, you might say, enlightenment. When you see plum blossoms or hear the sound of a small stone hitting bamboo, that is a letter from the world of emptiness.
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A Master who cannot bow to a disciple cannot bow to Buddha.
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We ourselves cannot put any magic spells on this world. The world is its own magic.
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From True Emptiness The Wondrous Being Appears
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Each one of us must make his own true way, and when we do, that way will express the universal way.
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When you are fooled by something else, the damage will not be so big. But when you are fooled by yourself, it is fatal. No more medicine.
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If it is raining out, do not walk fast, because it is raining everywhere.
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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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When you do something, you should burn yourself up completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.
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An enlightened person does not ignore things and does not stick to things, not even to the truth.
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To cook is not just to prepare food for someone or to cook for yourself it is to express your sincerity. So when you cook you should express yourself in your activity in the kitchen. You should allow yourself plenty of time.
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To give your sheep or cow a large, spacious meadow is the way to control him.
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If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything it is open to everything.
Shunryu Suzuki
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In the zazen posture, your mind and body have, great power to accept things as they are, whether agreeable or disagreeable.
Shunryu Suzuki
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Zen is everywhere.... But for you, Zen is right here.
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There are, strictly speaking, no enlightened people, there is only enlightened activity.
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Moment after moment everything comes out of nothingness. This is the true joy of life.
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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.
Shunryu Suzuki