1. Zen is not some kind of excitement, but merely concentration on our usual everyday routine. — Shunryu Suzuki We sometimes come to spiritual practice looking for drama. For visions, for ecstatic states, for some experience that will confirm we are finally on the right path. Suzuki quietly lets the air out of this expectation….
1. To live in the realm of Buddha nature means to die as a small being, moment after moment. — Shunryu Suzuki What Suzuki calls the small being is the defended, self-protecting, reputation-managing self we carry around and work so hard to maintain. He is not asking us to destroy it. He is pointing out…
1. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few. — Shunryu Suzuki Expertise is extraordinarily useful. But it also builds walls. The more certain we become about how things are, the harder it becomes to see how things could be. A child in front of a pile…
