Quote

Concentration comes not from trying hard to focus on something, but from keeping your mind open and directing it at nothing.

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
Focus
Open
Comes
Nothing
Hard
Trying
Directing
Mind
Concentration
Something
Keeping

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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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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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Life without zazen is like winding your clock without setting it. It runs perfectly well, but it dosen't tell time.
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Each one of us must make his own true way, and when we do, that way will express the universal way.
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If it is raining out, do not walk fast, because it is raining everywhere.
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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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All descriptions of reality are limited expressions of the world of emptiness. Yet we attach to the descriptions and think they are reality. That is a mistake.
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The way that helps will not be the same it changes according to the situation.
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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.
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To give your sheep or cow a large, spacious meadow is the way to control him.
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Each of you is perfect the way you are ... and you can use a little improvement.
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If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything it is open to everything.
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True communication depends upon our being straightforward with one another... But the best way to communicate may be just to sit without saying anything.
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The secret of zen is just two words: not... always... so.
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Our mind should be free from traces of the past, just like the flowers of spring.
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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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Things are always changing, so nothing can be yours.
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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.
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Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection is perfect reality.
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