--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Strictly speaking, there is no such thing…" description: "\"Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as an enlightened person. There is only enlightened activity.\" — Shunryu Suzuki" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a02/shunryu-suzuki-1280_activity_strictly-speaking-there-is-no-such-thing_1942066.png" --- # Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as an… ![“Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as an enlightened person. There is only enlightened activity.” quote by Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a02/shunryu-suzuki-1280_activity_strictly-speaking-there-is-no-such-thing_1942066.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a02/shunryu-suzuki-1280_activity_strictly-speaking-there-is-no-such-thing_1942066.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a02/shunryu-suzuki-1280_activity_strictly-speaking-there-is-no-such-thing_1942066.png) > “Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as an enlightened person. There is only enlightened activity.” [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Enlightenment is not a static state but ongoing mindful action; there is no permanent "enlightened person". **In simple terms:** Enlightenment is activity. Key Takeaway Practice mindful action. Themes spirituality mindfulness impermanence Mood calm thoughtful Type spiritual practical When to use this quote - daily meditation - ethical decision‑making Key Concepts non‑attachment process orientation Zen practice Questions to Reflect On - What actions embody enlightenment? - How does this view affect self‑identity? A Different Perspective May be misunderstood as passivity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enlightened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightened/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [There are, strictly speaking, no enlightened people, there is only enlightened activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/there-are-strictly-speaking-no-enlightened-people-there-is-only/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [Strictly speaking, there are no enlightened people, there is only enlightened activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/strictly-speaking-there-are-no-enlightened-people-there-is-only/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [A person who is enlightened does not have to reincarnate, or they may. If they chose not to, they can go beyond the wheel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-person-who-is-enlightened-does-not-have-to-reincarnate-or-they-may/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [ “Where the world is inactive, the ‘Gnani’ \[the enlightened one\] is active, and where the world is engaged in activities, there is inactivity on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-the-world-is-inactive-the-gnani-the-enlightened-one-is-active/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [For a long time, I thought that I was an enlightened parent by virtue of being an enlightened person. What a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/for-a-long-time-i-thought-that-i-was-an-enlightened-parent-by-virtue/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) > [An enlightened person lives in the world, passes through the ten thousand states of mind, but they are not bound by them. They can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/an-enlightened-person-lives-in-the-world-passes-through-the-ten/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [An enlightened person or business is not concerned primarily with making money, because when you are concerned with making money you want the future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/an-enlightened-person-or-business-is-not-concerned-primarily-with/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [If you can't think of an enlightened person positively, don't think of them at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-can-t-think-of-an-enlightened-person-positively-don-t-think-of/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“The enlightened person therefore tells the truth, speaks with warm gentleness when they do speak, and refrains from speaking when they have nothing important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-tuffley/the-enlightened-person-therefore-tells-the-truth-speaks-with-warm/) [David Tuffley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-tuffley/) > [Occasionally, in each age and in different lands, a Buddha is born, that is to say, an enlightened person...they re-codify the ways, the practices,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/occasionally-in-each-age-and-in-different-lands-a-buddha-is-born-that/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [An enlightened person has real power and when they think a good thought, the tremendous power of attention causes their students to actually lift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/an-enlightened-person-has-real-power-and-when-they-think-a-good/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [If one thinks of an enlightened person in a negative way, as it hits their aura, it returns very strongly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-one-thinks-of-an-enlightened-person-in-a-negative-way-as-it-hits/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [An enlightened person doesn't know it all. Enlightenment simply means walking beyond this and all worlds into nirvana, which is beyond knowledge and ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/an-enlightened-person-doesn-t-know-it-all-enlightenment-simply-means/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Hold a positive thought of an enlightened person in your mind. When that thought touches their aura, it comes back quickly with a positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/hold-a-positive-thought-of-an-enlightened-person-in-your-mind-when/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Even the enlightened person remains what he is, and is never more than his own limited ego before the One who dwells within him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/even-the-enlightened-person-remains-what-he-is-and-is-never-more-than/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) ## More by Shunryu Suzuki > [The point we emphasize is strong confidence in our original nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/the-point-we-emphasize-is-strong-confidence-in-our-original-nature/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [If you continue this simple practice every day, you will obtain some wonderful power. Before you attain it, it is something wonderful, but after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/if-you-continue-this-simple-practice-every-day-you-will-obtain-some/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [You want to eliminate your evil desires in order to reveal your Buddha nature, but where will you throw them away?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/you-want-to-eliminate-your-evil-desires-in-order-to-reveal-your/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [Ego is a social institution with no physical reality. The ego is simply your symbol of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/ego-is-a-social-institution-with-no-physical-reality-the-ego-is/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [“In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the experts mind, there are few.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/in-the-beginner-s-mind-there-are-many-possibilities-in-the-experts/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [The seed has no idea of being some particular plant, but it has its own form and is in perfect harmony with the ground,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/the-seed-has-no-idea-of-being-some-particular-plant-but-it-has-its/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [Whereever you are, you are one with the clouds and one with the sun and the stars you see. You are one with everything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/whereever-you-are-you-are-one-with-the-clouds-and-one-with-the-sun/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [When we become truly ourselves, we just become a swinging door, and we are purely independent of, and at the same time, dependent upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/when-we-become-truly-ourselves-we-just-become-a-swinging-door-and-we/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [“Zen is not some fancy, special art of living. Our teaching is just to live, always in reality, in its exact sense. To make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/zen-is-not-some-fancy-special-art-of-living-our-teaching-is-just-to/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [So the secret is just to say 'Yes!' and jump off from here. Then there is no problem. It means to be yourself, always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/so-the-secret-is-just-to-say-yes-and-jump-off-from-here-then-there-is/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [Our tendency is to be interested in something that is growing in the garden, not in the bare soil itself. But if you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/our-tendency-is-to-be-interested-in-something-that-is-growing-in-the/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [The world is its own magic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/the-world-is-its-own-magic/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [People say that practicing Zen is difficult, but there is a misunderstanding as to why. It is not difficult because it is hard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/people-say-that-practicing-zen-is-difficult-but-there-is-a/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [Each one of us must make his own true way, and when we do, that way will express the universal way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/each-one-of-us-must-make-his-own-true-way-and-when-we-do-that-way/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [The purpose of our practice is just to be yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/the-purpose-of-our-practice-is-just-to-be-yourself/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) [Explore all 262 Shunryu Suzuki quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) Gero Miesenbock > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as an enlightened person. 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