About This Quote

About Shunryu Suzuki

Shunryu Suzuki was Japanese buddhist monk who popularized zen in the us. Shunryu Suzuki was a Sōtō Zen monk and teacher who helped popularize Zen Buddhism in the United States, and is renowned for founding the first Zen Buddhist monastery outside Asia. Suzuki founded San Francisco Zen Center which, along with its affiliate temples, comprises one of the most influential Zen organizations in the United States. Read more on Wikipedia →

Themes

  • Philosophy — Deep thoughts on existence, knowledge, and the nature of reality
  • Wisdom — Timeless insights drawn from experience and reflection

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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 everyt...”
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“I discovered that it is necessary, absolutely necessary, to believe in nothing. That is, we have to believe in something which has no form and no color--something which exists before all forms and ...”
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“In the beginners mind there are many possibilities, but in the experts there are few”
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“Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine.”
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“In your very imperfections you will find the basis for your firm, way-seeking mind.”
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“To die is more important than trying to be alive. When we try to be alive, we have trouble. Rather than trying to be alive or active, if we can be calm and die or fade away into emptiness, then nat...”
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“It is only the innocent mind which knows what love is, and the innocent mind can live in the world which is not innocent.”
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“Nothing forces us to knowWhat we do not want to knowExcept pain”
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“Doesn't it seem that it is always by chance that these things happen, or is it because of the generosity of a shared knowledge of suffering that allows for it?”
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“Wisdom is not making life any harder than it has to be.”
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