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It is easy to have calmness in inactivity, it is hard to have calmness in activity, but calmness in activity is true calmness.

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
Calmness
Activity
Easy
True
Hard
Inactivity

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To give your sheep or cow a large, spacious meadow is the way to control him.
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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.
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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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We ourselves cannot put any magic spells on this world. The world is its own magic.
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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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Discipline is creating the situation.
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There is no connection between I myself yesterday and I myself in this moment
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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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In your everyday life you always have opportunities for enlightenment. If you go to the rest room, there is a chance to attain enlightenment. When you cook, there is a chance to attain enlightenment. When you clean the floor, there is a chance to attain enlightenment.
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In the Lotus Sutra, Buddha says to light up one corner - not the whole world. Just make it clear where you are.
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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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Nothing outside yourself can cause any trouble. You yourself make the waves in your mind. If you leave your mind as it is, it will become calm. This mind is called big mind.
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Our mind should be free from traces of the past, just like the flowers of spring.
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To accept some idea of truth without experiencing it is like a painting of a cake on paper which you cannot eat.
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If you think your body and mind are two, that is wrong if you think that they are one, that is also wrong. Our body and mind are both two and one.
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Instead of criticizing, find out how to help.
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Let your ears hear without trying to hear. Let the mind think without trying to think and without trying to stop it. That is practice.
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