Shunryu Suzuki Quotes – Inspiring Wisdom from a Zen Master

In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.

Each moment is all that you need, not more.

Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine.

When you do something, you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.

You should rather be grateful for the weeds you have in your mind, because eventually they will enrich your practice.

Life is like stepping onto a boat which is about to sail out to sea and sink.

The best way to control people is to encourage them to be mischievous.

Do not try to become anything. Do not make yourself into anything. Do not be a meditator. Be ordinary.

When you do something, you should do it with your whole body and mind.

The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet.

We realize that we are vast, and we are ready to expand beyond the previous boundaries we set for ourselves.

In meditation, leave your front door and your back door open. Let thoughts come and go. Just don’t serve them tea.

True happiness is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.

When you are doing something, you should be doing only that, and your mind should be undisturbed and fully present.

The only way you can read in reality is to see yourself clearly.

The most important point is to find out what is the most important thing.

Shunryu Suzuki Quotes – Inspiring Wisdom from a Zen Master part 2

You and I are the same. What I have done is surely possible for all. You are the same as I am. You can do anything I can do.

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.

In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities. In the expert’s mind, there are few.

Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection, in the ugliness, … lies freedom.

When you are fully present and people speak from their heart, you will be able to listen to them beyond their words.

Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure.

When you do something, you do it with your whole body and mind.

We cannot gain control of ourselves unless we rejoice in everything that we have.

Your purpose in life is not necessarily to understand it, but to live it to the fullest.

In order not to leave any trace, when you do something, you should do it with your whole body and mind.

Real freedom is freedom from the opinion of others.

Everything hits the mark when everything is being done from the heart.

When you have nothing to do, there is always something to do.

The deeper your understanding, the brighter the colours in the world.

Life is like stepping onto a boat which is about to sail out to sea and sink.

The best way to control people is to encourage them to be mischievous.

Life is sometimes hard and challenging, but it is those times that make you stronger and wiser.

Before you can make yourself into a good horse, you must be a bad horse.

The secret of success is to be in harmony with existence, to be always calm to let each wave of life wash us a little farther up the shore.

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.

The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet.

When we are not deluded, there is nothing to do or nothing not to do.

It takes a whole life of practice to be in one complete state of concentration from the beginning to the end.

You should find your own way to resolve your problems, and there you will see yourself as you are.

Your way is right only when it agrees with your own nature and judgment.

Nothing you see, hear, or touch is constant. In other words, you should not accept it emotionally.

If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not understand, things are just as they are.

True happiness is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.

Each of you is perfect the way you are … and you can use a little improvement.

The sun shining on a sage is just like a new mountain peak appearing above the horizon.

In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s, there are few.

When you do something, you should be completely involved in it. You should devote yourself to it.

When you do things, you should keep driving your will to resist distractions.

Even in your right practice there is wrong understanding. If you know there is wrong understanding within your practice, that is true understanding.