Buddhism Quotes by Shunryu Suzuki

You can't make a date with enlightenment.

— Shunryu Suzuki

Enlightenment is not a complete remedy.

— Shunryu Suzuki

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

— Shunryu Suzuki

“The trying to do something is in itself enlightenment. When we are in difficulty or distress, there we have enlightenment.”

— Shunryu Suzuki

To have some deep feeling about Buddhism is not the point; we just do what we should do, like eating supper and…

— Shunryu Suzuki

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

— Shunryu Suzuki

The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism, but to study ourselves.

— Shunryu Suzuki

When he bowed to all those buddhas, the buddhas he bowed to were beyond his own understanding. Again and again he did…

— Shunryu Suzuki

It is not after we understand the truth that we attain enlightenment. To realize the truth is to live - to exist…

— Shunryu Suzuki

In your big mind, everything has the same value...In your practice you should accept everything as it is, giving to each thing…

— Shunryu Suzuki

People say that practicing Zen is difficult, but there is a misunderstanding as to why. It is not difficult because it is…

— Shunryu Suzuki

In your everyday life you always have opportunities for enlightenment. If you go to the rest room, there is a chance to…

— Shunryu Suzuki

“You do not say, “This is enlightenment,” or “That is not right practice.” Even in wrong practice, when you realize it and…

— Shunryu Suzuki

We do not slight the idea of enlightenment, but the most important thing is this moment, not some day in the future.…

— Shunryu Suzuki

The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism, but to study ourselves. That is why we have teaching. But the…

— Shunryu Suzuki

Although we have no actual written communications from the world of emptiness, we have some hints or suggestions about what is going…

— Shunryu Suzuki

If enlightenment comes first, before thinking, before practice, your thinking and your practice will not be self-centered. By enlightenment I mean believing…

— Shunryu Suzuki

“When you do something, you should do it with your whole body and mind; you should be concentrated on what you do.…

— Shunryu Suzuki

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

— Shunryu Suzuki