Shunryu Suzuki: Mind

Shunryu Suzuki was Japanese Buddhist missionary. Explore interesting quotes on mind.

Shunryu Suzuki: 78 quotes2 likes

“In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's there are few.”

Prologue
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (1973)
Variant: In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few
Source: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice

“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, but in the expert's mind there are few.”

Shunryu Suzuki

“Calmness of mind does not mean you should stop your activity. Real calmness should be found in activity itself. We say, "It is easy to have calmness in inactivity, it is hard to have calmness in activity, but calmness in activity is true calmness.”

Shunryu Suzuki

Source: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice

“After you have practiced for a while, you will realize that it is not possible to make rapid, extraordinary progress. Even though you try very hard, the progress you make is always little by little. It is not like going out in a shower in which you know when you get wet. In a fog, you do not know you are getting wet, but as you keep walking you get wet little by little. If your mind has ideas of progress, you may say, "Oh, this pace is terrible!" But actually it is not. When you get wet in a fog it is very difficult to dry yourself. So there is no need to worry about progress.”

Shunryu Suzuki book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

Pt. 1 : Right Practice, "Bowing"
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (1973)

“Practice does not mean that whatever you do, even lying down, is zazen. When the restrictions you have do not limit you, this is what we mean by practice….
When you sit, you will sit. When you eat, you will eat…. If you say,”It doesn’t matter,” it means that you are making some excuse to do something in your own way with your small mind. It means that you are to some particular thing or way. That is not what we mean when we say, “Just to sit is enough,” or “Whatever you do is zazen.””

Shunryu Suzuki book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

Of course, everything you do is zazen, but if so, there is no need to say it.
Source: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (1973), p. 41

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

Shunryu Suzuki book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

Pt. 1 : Right Practice "Mind Weeds", p. 26
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (1973)

“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 goes. Zen practice is to open up our small mind.”

Shunryu Suzuki book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

Prologue
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (1973)