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Zazen practice is the direct expression of our true nature. Strictly speaking, for a human being, there is no other practice than this practice there is no other way of life than this way of life.

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
Human
Excellence
Humans
Speaking
Way
Direct
Life
Expression
Growth
Practice
True
Strictly
Nature
Mindfulness

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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Our mind should be free from traces of the past, just like the flowers of spring.
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You will always exist in the universe in one form or another.
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Christopher McCandless:I will miss you too, but you are wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from the joy of human relationships. God's place is all around us, it is in everything and in anything we can experience. People just need to change the way they look at things.
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Zazen practice and everyday activity are one thing. We call zazen everyday life, and everyday life zazen.
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We do not slight the idea of enlightenment, but the most important thing is this moment, not some day in the future. We have to make our effort in this moment. This is the most important thing for our practice.
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There will always be war, but we must always work to oppose it.
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If you continue this simple practice every day, you will obtain some wonderful power. Before you attain it, it is something wonderful, but after you attain it, it is nothing special.
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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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When you say, Wait a moment, you are bound by your karma when you say Yes I will, you are free.
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In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few.
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The way that helps will not be the same it changes according to the situation.
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The more you practice zazen, the more you will be able to accept something as your own, whatever it is.
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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.
Shunryu Suzuki
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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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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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Our way is to practice one step at a time, one breath at a time, with no gaining idea.
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A tiger does not ignore or slight any small animal. The way he catches a mouse and catches and devours a cow are the same.
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In the mind of the beginner, there are many possibilities. In the mind of the expert there are few.
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A flower falls, even though we love it and a weed grows, even though we do not love it....In this way our life should be understood. Then there is no problem.
Shunryu Suzuki