Quotes from book
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

Name: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
Author: Shunryu Suzuki

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind is a book of teachings by the late Shunryu Suzuki, a compilation of talks given to his satellite Zen center in Los Altos, California. Published in 1970 by Weatherhill, the book is not academic, but contains frank and direct transcriptions of Suzuki's talks recorded by his student Marian Derby. Trudy Dixon and Richard Baker edited the talks by choosing those most relevant, arranging them into chapters. According to some, it has become a spiritual classic, helping readers to steer clear from the trap of intellectualism. Bodhin Kjolhede, Abbot of the Rochester Zen Center, writes that, together with Philip Kapleau's The Three Pillars of Zen , it is one of the two most influential books on Zen in the west.

“The basic teaching of Buddhism is the teaching of transiency or change. That everything changes is the basic truth for each existence. No one can deny this truth and all teaching of Buddhism is condensed within it. This is the teaching for all of us. Wherever we go this teaching is true. This teaching is also understood as the teaching of selflessness. Because each existence is in constant change, there is no abiding self.”

Shunryu Suzuki book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

Part 4, No. 1. "Transiency"
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (1973)

“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)

“If you take pride in your attainment or become discouraged because of your idealistic effort, your practice will confine you by a thick wall.”

Shunryu Suzuki book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

Pt. 3 : Right Understanding, "Naturalness"
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (1973)

“The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism but to study ourselves. You are not your body. You are the Big Activity. You are just expressing the smallest particle of the Big Activity. That is all. But when you become attached to a temporal expression of the Big Activity, it is time to talk about Buddhism.”

Shunryu Suzuki book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

Part 3, No. 3 "Study Yourself"
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (1973)