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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.

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
Conquer
Instead
Use
Difficult
Things
Respecting

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When we become truly ourselves, we just become a swinging door, and we are purely independent of, and at the same time, dependent upon everything.
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Zazen practice and everyday activity are one thing. We call zazen everyday life, and everyday life zazen.
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Christopher McCandless:I will miss you too, but you are wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from the joy of human relationships. God's place is all around us, it is in everything and in anything we can experience. People just need to change the way they look at things.
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The way that helps will not be the same it changes according to the situation.
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We ourselves cannot put any magic spells on this world. The world is its own magic.
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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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Because all existence is founded upon the ever-present state of union, everything already exists in a state of tranquility. However, this state of tranquility is masked from us by our assumption that there is a separation, that there is a problem.
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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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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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In your big mind, everything has the same value...In your practice you should accept everything as it is, giving to each thing the same respect given to a Buddha. Here there is Buddhahood
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When you say, Wait a moment, you are bound by your karma when you say Yes I will, you are free.
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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 must exist right here, right now!
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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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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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Things are always changing, so nothing can be yours.
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Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection is perfect reality.
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Religion is not any particular teaching. Religion is everywhere.
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If you cannot bow to Buddha, you cannot be a Buddha. It is arrogance.
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Zazen practice is the direct expression of our true nature. Strictly speaking, for a human being, there is no other practice than this practice there is no other way of life than this way of life.
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