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The purpose of our practice is just to be yourself.

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
Practice
Purpose

More quotes by Shunryu Suzuki

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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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When you do something, you should burn yourself up completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.
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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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To give your sheep or cow a large, spacious meadow is the way to control him.
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Instead of criticizing, find out how to help.
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Each of you is perfect the way you are ... and you can use a little improvement.
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We do not exist for the sake of something else. We exist for the sake of ourselves.
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There is no connection between I myself yesterday and I myself in this moment
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An enlightened person does not ignore things and does not stick to things, not even to the truth.
Shunryu Suzuki
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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.
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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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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.
Shunryu Suzuki
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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.
Shunryu Suzuki
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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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If it is raining out, do not walk fast, because it is raining everywhere.
Shunryu Suzuki
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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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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.
Shunryu Suzuki
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Enlightenment is not a complete remedy.
Shunryu Suzuki
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Don't move. Just die over and over. Don't anticipate. Nothing can save you now because you have only this moment. Not even enlightenment will help you now because there are no other moments. With no future, be true to yourself and express yourself fully. Don't move.
Shunryu Suzuki
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It is a big mistake to think that the best way to express yourself is to do whatever you want, acting as you please. This is not expressing yourself. If you know what to do exactly, and you do it, then you can express yourself fully.
Shunryu Suzuki