--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The mind we have when we practice zazen…" description: "\"The mind we have when we practice zazen is the great mind: we don't try to see anything; we stop conceptual thinking; we stop emotional activity; we ju..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/031/shunryu-suzuki-1280_activity_the-mind-we-have-when-we-practice-zazen_2303970.png" --- # The mind we have when we practice zazen is the great mind… ![“The mind we have when we practice zazen is the great mind: we don't try to see anything; we stop conceptual thinking; we stop emotional activity; we just sit. Whatever happens to us, we are not bothered. We just sit. It is like something happening in the great sky. Whatever kind of bird flies…” quote by Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/031/shunryu-suzuki-1280_activity_the-mind-we-have-when-we-practice-zazen_2303970.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/031/shunryu-suzuki-1280_activity_the-mind-we-have-when-we-practice-zazen_2303970.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/031/shunryu-suzuki-1280_activity_the-mind-we-have-when-we-practice-zazen_2303970.png) > “The mind we have when we practice zazen is the great mind: we don't try to see anything; we stop conceptual thinking; we stop emotional activity; we just sit. Whatever happens to us, we are not bothered. We just sit. It is like something happening in the great sky. Whatever kind of bird flies through it, the sky doesn't care. That is the mind transmitted from Buddha to us.” [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. True Zen mind is spacious and unattached; it observes without judgment, allowing thoughts and emotions to pass like clouds in the sky. **In simple terms:** Observe without clinging. Key Takeaway Practice non‑attachment and mindfulness. Themes mindfulness spirituality detachment Mood calm contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - daily stress - emotional regulation Key Concepts emptiness impermanence presence Questions to Reflect On - How can you stay present without disengaging? - What practices help maintain this spacious awareness? A Different Perspective Non‑attachment can be misinterpreted as indifference. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Conceptual thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceptual-thinking/) [Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional/) [Great minds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-minds/) [Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Not bothered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/not-bothered/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sky/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“It will take quite a long time before you find your calm, serene mind in your practice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/it-will-take-quite-a-long-time-before-you-find-your-calm-serene-mind/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [So the most difficult thing is always to keep your beginner's mind. There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/so-the-most-difficult-thing-is-always-to-keep-your-beginner-s-mind/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [If you want to study Zen, you should forget all your previous ideas and just practice zazen and see what kind of experience you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/if-you-want-to-study-zen-you-should-forget-all-your-previous-ideas/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [The more you practice zazen, the more you will be able to accept something as your own, whatever it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/the-more-you-practice-zazen-the-more-you-will-be-able-to-accept/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [“Even though you read much Zen literature, you must read each sentence with a fresh mind. 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If you become peaceful, then accept it,; if you don’t become peaceful,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ajahn-chah/do-not-be-in-a-hurry-or-try-to-push-your-practice-if-you-become/) [Ajahn Chah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ajahn-chah/) > [Visualization - it's been huge for me. Your mind doesn't know the difference between imagination and reality. You can't always practice perfectly - my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-stirling/visualization-it-s-been-huge-for-me-your-mind-doesn-t-know-the/) [Lindsey Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-stirling/) > [Nothing is impossible, the goal in mind to practice,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/nothing-is-impossible-the-goal-in-mind-to-practice/) Mak\_786 ## 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. 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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. 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