--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't make a date with enlightenment." description: "\"You can't make a date with enlightenment.\" — Shunryu Suzuki" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/shunryu-suzuki-1280_buddhism_you-can-t-make-a-date-with-enlightenment_2690717.png" --- # You can't make a date with enlightenment. ![“You can't make a date with enlightenment.” quote by Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/shunryu-suzuki-1280_buddhism_you-can-t-make-a-date-with-enlightenment_2690717.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/shunryu-suzuki-1280_buddhism_you-can-t-make-a-date-with-enlightenment_2690717.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/shunryu-suzuki-1280_buddhism_you-can-t-make-a-date-with-enlightenment_2690717.png) > “You can't make a date with enlightenment.” [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 cannot be scheduled; it arrives beyond deliberate planning. **In simple terms:** Enlightenment defies appointments. Key Takeaway Be open to spontaneous insight. Themes spirituality mindfulness patience Mood calm inquisitive Type spiritual philosophical When to use this quote - spiritual practice - personal growth Key Concepts meditation daily life unexpected moments Questions to Reflect On - What moments have you felt unexpected clarity? - How can you cultivate openness? A Different Perspective Seeking it forcefully may cause frustration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) ## Related quotes > [When you have kids, it can be hard sometimes because you've got to find creative ways to spend time with each other. 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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/) > [Enlightenment is not a complete remedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/enlightenment-is-not-a-complete-remedy/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [In your everyday life you always have opportunities for enlightenment. If you go to the rest room, there is a chance to attain enlightenment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/in-your-everyday-life-you-always-have-opportunities-for-enlightenment/) [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/) > [Don't move. Just die over and over. Don't anticipate. Nothing can save you now because you have only this moment. 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After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [“That's all there is, enlightenment on the end of a cock. It doesn't get any more Zen than that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaden-wilkes/that-s-all-there-is-enlightenment-on-the-end-of-a-cock-it-doesn-t-get/) [Jaden Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaden-wilkes/) > [I think enlightenment is something that you decide to do after you have met someone who is enlightened. Something touches your heart, your being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/i-think-enlightenment-is-something-that-you-decide-to-do-after-you/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We need enlightenment, not just individually but collectively, to save the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/we-need-enlightenment-not-just-individually-but-collectively-to-save/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Enlightenment is lightening up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-myers/enlightenment-is-lightening-up/) [Mike Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-myers/) ## 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. 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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 Buddhism quotes > [There are places that are very draining. 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I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [My mom and my aunties are really devout Christians. 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If you are miserable you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/buddhism-advises-you-not-to-implant-feelings-that-you-don-t-really/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“That's all there is, enlightenment on the end of a cock. It doesn't get any more Zen than that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaden-wilkes/that-s-all-there-is-enlightenment-on-the-end-of-a-cock-it-doesn-t-get/) [Jaden Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaden-wilkes/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) [Browse all 6,100 Buddhism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can't make a date with enlightenment.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Shunryu Suzuki" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/you-can-t-make-a-date-with-enlightenment/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Buddhism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/you-can-t-make-a-date-with-enlightenment/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/shunryu-suzuki-1280_buddhism_you-can-t-make-a-date-with-enlightenment_2690717.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/shunryu-suzuki-1280_buddhism_you-can-t-make-a-date-with-enlightenment_2690717.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/shunryu-suzuki-1280_buddhism_you-can-t-make-a-date-with-enlightenment_2690717.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can't make a date with enlightenment.” — Shunryu Suzuki", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Shunryu Suzuki", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can't make a date with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/you-can-t-make-a-date-with-enlightenment/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/you-can-t-make-a-date-with-enlightenment/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```