Shunryu Suzuki Quotes

“As soon as you see something, you already start to intellectualize it. As soon as you intellectualize something, it is no longer what you saw.”

“Everything is perfect, but there is a lot of room for improvement.”

“How much 'ego' do you need? Just enough so that you don't step in front of a bus.”

“I think you're all enlightened, until you open your mouths.”

“Leave your front door and your back door open.
Allow your thoughts to come and go.
Just don't serve them tea.”

“Moment after moment everything comes out of nothingness. This is the true joy of life.”

“Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as an enlightened person. There is only enlightened activity.”

“Treat every moment as your last. It is not preparation for something else.”

“When my master and I were walking in the rain, he would say, 'Do not walk so fast, the rain is everywhere'.”

“Wherever you go you will find your teacher, as long as you have the eyes to see and the ears to hear.”

“When you try to understand everything, you will not understand anything. The best way is to understand yourself, and then you will understand everything.”