Quote

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.

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
Moment
Idea
Moments
Ideas
Slight
Important
Enlightenment
Thing
Effort
Make
Practice
Future

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Concentration comes not from trying hard to focus on something, but from keeping your mind open and directing it at nothing.
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Each of you is perfect the way you are ... and you can use a little improvement.
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Take care of things, and they will take care of you.
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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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If you take pride in your attainment or become discouraged because of your idealistic effort, your practice will confine you by a thick wall.
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There will always be war, but we must always work to oppose it.
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To express yourself as you are, without any intentional, fancy way of adjusting yourself, is the most important thing.
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There are, strictly speaking, no enlightened people, there is only enlightened activity.
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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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Someone was sitting in front of a sunflower, watching the sunflower, a cup of sun, and so I tried it too. It was wonderful I felt the whole universe in the sunflower. That was my experience. Sunflower meditation. A wonderful confidence appeared. You can see the whole universe in a flower.
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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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Our way is to practice one step at a time, one breath at a time, with no gaining idea.
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Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine.
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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.
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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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Discipline is creating the situation.
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We must exist right here, right now!
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From True Emptiness The Wondrous Being Appears
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If you were not born in this world, there would be no need to die. To be born in this world is to die, to disappear [laughing].
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