"So I say, ‘Oh, I am sorry but soon you will see the bright sunrise every morning and beautiful sunset in the evening, every evening, but right now perhaps you…under your situation it may be impossible to see the beautiful sunset or bright sunrise, or beautiful flower in your garden, and it is impossible to take care of your garden, but soon you will see the beauty of the flowers and you will cut some flowers for your room.’ When you start to do this kind of thing you are alright. Don’t worry a bit. It means when you become you, yourself, and when you see things as they are, and when you become at one with your surrounding, in its true sense, there is true self."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Lecture in Los Altos, CA (1 September 1967)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Shunryu_Suzuki
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Shunryu Suzuki
Shunryu Suzuki (鈴木 俊隆 Suzuki Shunryū, dharma name Shogaku Shunryu) (18 May 1904 – 4 December 1971) 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 (Tassajara Zen Mountain Center). Suzuki founded San Francisco Zen Center which, along with its affiliate temples, comprises one of the most influential Zen organizations in the United States. A book of his teachings, Zen Mind, Beginner's
30 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Shunryu Suzuki →
Related Quotes
"So it is not a matter of whether it is possible to attain Buddhahood, or if it is possible to make a tile a jewel. Bu…"
"The highest truth is daiji, translated as dai jiki in Chinese scriptures. This is the subject of the question the emp…"
"Communication is — start by understanding — your own understanding about people. Even though you want them to underst…"
"When you do something, you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself."
"You may say you attained some stage in your practice. But that is just a trivial event in your long life. It is like …"
"There are, strictly speaking, no enlightened people, there is only enlightened activity."
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's there are few."
"The true purpose of Zen is to see things as they are, to observe things as they are, and to let everything go as it g…"
"Doing something is expressing our own nature. We do not exist for the sake of something else. We exist for the sake o…"
"What is true zazen? What do you mean by Zen becomes Zen and you become you? You become you is a very important point.…"