Quote

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.

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
Trouble
Surroundings
Perfect
Seed
Idea
Seeds
Form
Plant
Ideas
Harmony
Mean
Ground
Cutting
Particular
Naturalness

More quotes by Shunryu Suzuki

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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 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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In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few.
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There will always be war, but we must always work to oppose it.
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If you cannot bow to Buddha, you cannot be a Buddha. It is arrogance.
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So when you try hard to make your own way, you will help others...before you make your own way you cannot help anyone, and no one can help you.
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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 will always exist in the universe in one form or another.
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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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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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The goal of our life’s effort is to reach the other shore, Nirvana. Prajna paramita, the true wisdom of life, is that in each step of the way, the other shore is actually reached.
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People say that practicing Zen is difficult, but there is a misunderstanding as to why. It is not difficult because it is hard to sit in the cross- legged position, or to attain enlightenment. It is difficult because it is hard to keep our mind pure and our practice pure in its fundamental sense.
Shunryu Suzuki
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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
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Whereever you are, you are one with the clouds and one with the sun and the stars you see. You are one with everything. That is more true than I can say, and more true than you can hear.
Shunryu Suzuki
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Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine.
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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We ourselves cannot put any magic spells on this world. The world is its own magic.
Shunryu Suzuki
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When you try to understand everything, you will not understand anything. The best way is to understand yourself, and then you will understand everything.
Shunryu Suzuki
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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.
Shunryu Suzuki
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If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything it is open to everything.
Shunryu Suzuki