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Before we were born we had no feeling; we were one with the universe. This is called "mind-only," or "essence of mind," or "big mind," After we are se...more

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Even though you read much Zen literature, you must read each sentence with a fresh mind. You should not say, “I know what Zen is,” or “I have attained...more

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I discovered that it is necessary, absolutely necessary, to believe in nothing. That is, we have to believe in something which has no form and no colo...more

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Even in zazen you will lose yourself. When you become sleepy, or when your mind starts to wander about, you lose yourself. When your legs become painf...more

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One time Marian showed me some sand. When she gave it to me, she said, "These are very interesting stones." It just looked like sand, but she asked me...more

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A student, filled with emotion and crying, implored, "Why is there so much suffering?"Suzuki Roshi replied, "No reason.

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Zen is not some fancy, special art of living. Our teaching is just to live, always in reality, in its exact sense. To make our effort, moment after mo...more

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Zen is nothing to get excited about.

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

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When you do something, you should do it with your whole body and mind; you should be concentrated on what you do. You should do it completely, like a ...more

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In our practice we have no particular purpose or goal, nor any special object of worship.

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To live in the realm of Buddha nature means to die as a small being, moment after moment.

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In your practice you should accept everything as it is, giving to each thing the same respect given to a Buddha.