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If you cannot bow to Buddha, you cannot be a Buddha. It is arrogance.

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
Cannot
Buddha
Bows
Arrogance

More quotes by 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.
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Time goes from present to past.
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Things are always changing, so nothing can be yours.
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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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How much 'ego' do you need? Just enough so that you don't step in front of a bus.
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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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We do not exist for the sake of something else. We exist for the sake of ourselves.
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People who know the state of emptiness will always be able to dissolve their problems by constancy.
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No matter what god or doctrine you believe in, if you become attached to it, your belief will be based more or less on a self-centered idea.
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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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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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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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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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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.
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To give your sheep or cow a large, spacious meadow is the way to control him.
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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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When you do something, you should burn yourself up completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.
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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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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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Bowing is a very serious practice. You should be prepared to bow, even in your last moment. even though it is impossible to get rid of our self-centered desires, we have to do it. Our true nature wants us to.
Shunryu Suzuki